


The Hunt

by Gemfae



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bottom Harry, Dub-con/Non-con, Freeform Fae, M/M, Magical Inheritance, Manipulative Dumbledore, Mpreg, Mystery Lover, Somewhat forced bonding, Top Draco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-03-22 10:57:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 45,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3726190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemfae/pseuds/Gemfae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry sneaks out of the castle after curfew and gets in the path of the Wild Hunt, catching the eye of the Prince of Fae. What has he gottenhimself into now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hunt

October 19th

It was about two weeks before Halloween, and Harry was having trouble sleeping again, so he decided to take his cloak and wander the castle, as had been his wont since school started again; he would often stay out until just before dawn, returning to his dorm to get a few hours of sleep before getting up for classes. This night he decided to go down to the Great Hall-he enjoyed being in the cavernous room when it was empty, and often sat at the Slytherin table, wondering what his life would have been like if he had been sorted into Slytherin as the Hat wanted. It was just before midnight when he made it to the entrance hall, and he noticed that the huge double-doors leading out of the school were slightly open.  
Now, in all his years of wandering, the entrance doors had never been open after curfew, and Harry was intrigued-he'd often looked down at the lake from one of the towers, and he loved the way the grounds looked in the moonlight, so he decided to take advantage and go for a moon-lit walk. Harry's only concern was how he would get back in if someone noticed that the doors were open, but he figured that he could always sneak into Hogsmeade via the Shrieking Shack and from there access the hidden tunnel under Honeydukes. His mind made up, Harry slipped through the open door and made his way down to the shore of the Black Lake; he walked around the shoreline up to the small hill that over-looked the Forbidden Forest where he found a birch tree and a cluster of rocks to sit at. The site was hidden from view, so Harry took his invisibility cloak off and draped it over a tree branch before sitting down and tilting his head back to look at the stars.  
Not long after he had made himself comfortable, Harry was startled out of his daze by the sound of horses neighing. He shot to his feet and looked around in alarm, before realizing that it was probably the Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest. Having reassured himself that it was nothing to worry about, Harry made to sit back down when he saw something glittering in his peripheral vision, near the school, and he turned to get a better look.  
At first Harry wasn't sure what he was seeing; it looked like a large multi-colored cloud, filled with glitter, and it reminded him of the fairies that Hogwarts used to decorate the halls during the Yule season. As he watched it though, the cloud came closer, and Harry could make out shapes in the cloud-it looked like people on horses and large black hounds…a snippet of lecture from History of Magic came back to Harry from the class a few weeks ago;  
"…and the Wild Hunt would roam the countryside hunting down oath-breakers and exacting punishment upon them. Sometimes the Hunt would heed the pleas of a witch or wizard-and in rare cases a Muggle-and enact revenge upon those who had wronged them. It is not wise to be out when the Wild Hunt is on the move as those caught in its path are usually found dead the following morning. Sometimes the Hunt will draft a witch or wizard to ride with them and help enact justice…"  
"The Wild Hunt," Harry whispered, mesmerized by the sight of the riders getting closer; the steeds were black as midnight, except for two golden ones and a slightly smaller silver one near the front of the hunt, and the riders were all tall beings whose hair and skin shone under the moonlight. Mixed in among the dogs, the horses and the riders were smaller beings, some dark others glittering, that Harry realized were most likely pixies and other Fae, which he vaguely remembered Hermione mentioning.  
Suddenly, the Hell Hounds-as Hermione had called them-came to a stop and howled as one-it was an eerie sound, making all the hair on Harry's body stand up-and then a small group broke away from the Hunt; with a start Harry realized that the smaller group was headed for him, and he knew he was in trouble. The only safe place was in the school, but the Hunt would intercept him long before he could reach it, so Harry quickly made his way back down the cliff; if he couldn't get back to the school he would hide in the forest. When he got to the bottom of the hill Harry realized that he had forgotten his invisibility cloak, but he knew better than to go back for it now.  
Harry ran into the forest, staying on the path at first-he recalled Hagrid telling them that the centaurs had given permission for students to be in the forest as long as they didn't stray from the paths-but he knew that he would eventually have to veer off; if the path was easy for him to traverse it would just make it even easier for the Hunt to catch up to him. Harry continued on the path until he came to a small stream, which he quickly crossed-was the Hunt inhibited by running water, or was that just vampires? He could hear the sounds of the Hunt behind him, so once he cleared the stream he left the path, moving as quickly as he dared while still keeping an eye out for trees and dangerous objects in front of him.  
Harry didn't know how long he ran, but several times he thought he would be caught for sure, only to narrowly escape and leave his pursuers behind; once he could have sworn he heard the sound of arrows being fired and there was a chorus of painful screams behind him, indicating that the centaurs had perhaps helped him. Eventually, Harry began to tire, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught-maybe he would be better off doubling back and running towards the school? It was likely that the entire Hunt was in the forest by now, so this would be his best chance to get inside to safety.  
His mind made up, Harry abruptly rounded a tree and turned back towards the direction that he thought the school was in. In an effort to preserve his energy Harry slowed down, trying to keep his breathing quiet as he made his way back out of the forest; the only light was the silvery glow of the moon, and Harry knew that he was lucky he hadn't run into a tree or one of the numerous creatures that normally prowled the forest at night. Harry knew he was on the right tack when he heard the quiet rumbling that was Grawp's snores-he had actually forgotten about the giant, but he didn't think Hagrid's brother would have been much protection against the Hunt anyway.  
From Grawp's clearing it was only a little further until Harry would be out of the forest, and he quickened his step once again; he was just beyond where Grawp lay sleeping when he once more heard the baying of the hounds, and he looked over his shoulder only to see glowing red eyes behind him.  
"Damn!" Harry cursed, putting on a burst of speed. He ran through the forest so quickly that the trees were just a blur-he didn't think, didn't plan, he just reacted, jumping over roots and dodging around trees as they came into sight. He finally caught sight of the school in between the trees, and he felt a profound relief; he was almost free, and then he just had to make it back inside…Harry's fast pace finally caught up to him, and his foot caught on a tree root, causing him to fall to the ground. Seconds later he felt a presence above him and rolled over onto his back, only to find himself staring into the muzzle of a large, growling Hell Hound. Harry tried to scoot away, but numerous of the dark pixies flew at him and took hold of his arms and legs, holding him down as a dark shadow glided towards him.  
"Halt!" That single word spoken in a clear, commanding voice, had the effect of making the denizens of the Wild Hunt freeze, and moments later a shining silver figure came into view.  
"Leave him," that voice commanded, "He is mine."  
"Are you certain, my son?" The mesmerizing bell-like voice was accompanied by the figure of a golden woman, "Once you have chosen you cannot change your mind."  
"I know," the first voice said, "I am certain this is what I want Mother. I thought I told you to leave him." The voice became cold, and the creatures holding Harry down hurried to release him; as soon as his limbs were free Harry tried to move away, but the silver figure was standing in front of him, hand outstretched as if to help him up. "Choose; it is either me-or them." Harry looked back at the shadowy creatures staring at him with hungry red eyes and then raised his eyes back to the figure in front of him; with only the slightest hesitation Harry took the outstretched hand and allowed the figure to pull him to his feet. Once he was standing the glow around the figure faded slightly and he could see that it was a male slightly taller than him with hair that shone silver in the moonlight; his face was obscured by a dark blue mask, and his skin was almost as pale as his hair.  
"What are you going to do to me?" Harry demanded uneasily; he tried to pull his hand loose, but the other boy refused to let go; "Who are you?"  
"Oh, it won't be anything too terrible," came the response as Harry was pulled over to the silver steed he had seen earlier; "I am the prince, and I know you are Harry Potter." The prince mounted the horse and then pulled Harry up to sit in front of him; the prince then gestured to the two golden figures that had been leading the hunt; "These are my parents-the king and queen. Father-?"  
"Go ahead my son," the king said, "Take the rest of the night to become acquainted with your new companion-remember though; you only have until dawn."  
"Thank you Father; good night Mother," the prince said, and a moment later they were in motion; the prince's arms were around Harry's waist and he allowed the horse free rein, obviously trusting it to know the way. The night air was cold, and Harry found himself leaning back into the warmth of his companion, causing the prince to chuckle softly and press a kiss just behind the brunet's ear as his arms tightened around his waist. As they rode Harry began to feel drowsy, and soon he felt his eyelids droop closed as he rested his head on the prince's shoulder.  
The next thing he knew, Harry was laying on a soft bed with soft kisses being placed on his eyelids, his cheeks, and trailed down his neck. He felt so warm and comfortable that he didn't even protest as his shirt was removed; it wasn't until he felt warm skin against his own bare chest that he finally became fully aware of his situation. Harry placed his hands against the shoulders of the person leaning over him and pushed at them so that he could sit up, but the other person didn't budge; when he squinted his eyes-he wasn't wearing his glasses-he could make out silvery hair and intense blue eyes ringed in silver, and the events of the night came back to him.  
"Where am I?" he demanded, "What are you-"  
"Relax," the Prince interrupted, "I have chosen you, and now you will be mine." The prince lowered his head as if to kiss him, and Harry tried to push him away again.  
"No!" He protested, "You can't-I'm not-I don't want this!"  
"Then you should not have ventured outside the safety of your school," the prince replied shortly, "It is far too late to protest now; perhaps you should have thought before accepting my hand." He captured both of Harry's wrists and pressed them to the mattress; moments later Harry felt something snake around his wrists.  
"Let me go!" He growled, struggling against his bindings; as he did so he felt a sharp pinprick of pain that made him gasp-he tilted his head so to try and see what was binding him, but without his glasses all he could see was a line of green and a blur of red. "What-?"  
"It is a rose vine," the prince replied, "Don't worry-it will not harm you unless you struggle."  
"Well that's reassuring," Harry scowled, "There's no way I'm going to just sit here and let you…do whatever you want to me."  
"Oh, but you really don't have a choice," the smugness in the prince's voice reminded Harry of someone else, but the thought was fleeting and he couldn't follow it; "Besides-I have a feeling you're going to enjoy this as well."  
"Don't count on it," Harry retorted, "I-" the rest of his response was lost as the prince leaned down and pressed their lips together; Harry tried to turn his head away, but the prince used one hand on his chin to hold him still.  
The fae prince licked and nibbled at Harry's mouth in an effort to make him part his lips, and when that didn't work he pulled away, only to trail kisses down the side of Harry's neck to his chest, where he began to lick and suck on the other boy's nipples. Harry bit his lip and held his limbs tense to avoid reacting, but he couldn't stop the breathless gasp that escaped when the prince bit down on one nipple. As much as he hated to admit it, Harry couldn't help being turned on, and he just prayed that the prince wouldn't notice the rising hardness in his trousers.  
"Hmm, so you like that do you?" the prince murmured before giving the same treatment to Harry's other nipple, causing him to squirm in an effort to escape the unwanted feelings. "I told you that you would enjoy yourself." He didn't give Harry a chance to respond, but merely lowered his head again and trailed small, biting kisses across his abdomen, down to the top of his trousers; the prince's hands, which had been caressing Harry's sides-slid down and made quick work of the brunet's trousers and underpants, leaving the smaller boy completely naked before he could protest.  
"Oh yes-you definitely like this," Harry blushed as he realized that the prince was looking at his fully hardened member and squirmed uncomfortably.  
"Please don't," he pleaded, "I'm not-I'm not gay and I never…"  
"Oh, I know you never," the prince replied softly, wrapping a hand around Harry's erection, "You are pure, which is the only reason I was able to save you from the Shadows. After tonight you will be mine-it will be easier for you if you just relax and accept it." The prince moved away from him for a moment, and then his legs were being pushed apart as he felt something cool and smooth probe at his entrance; the tip of the object breached his hole and Harry gasped as he felt an uncomfortable tingling sensation.  
"You can't do this," he tried protesting once again as the object-a wand-was removed and a slick finger replaced it, not breaching his hole, but merely pressing against it; "Just let me go."  
"I will not let you go," the prince responded, pushing the tip of his finger in, "And I most certainly can do this-you were in the path of the Hunt, and that means you are at our-or rather my-mercy. I want you, and I shall have you;" the prince pushed his finger the rest of the way in and Harry winced, pulling at his bindings once again until he felt the thorns pierce his skin.  
Harry felt tears stinging at the corner of his eyes as the prince worked his finger in and out before adding a second and further stretching his hole. The stretching didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable and Harry closed his eyes, trying not to think about it. When a third finger was added Harry winced at the small pain and then arched his back in a silent gasp as the prince touched something inside him that sent pleasure throughout his body. The prince continued to stretch Harry, brushing over his prostate every few moments; he slid up Harry's body and pressed their lips together once again, and this time Harry didn't resist as the prince invaded his mouth, twining his tongue around the brunet's and thoroughly tasting him.  
"Are you ready Harry?" the prince asked as he broke the kiss, removing his fingers at the same time.  
"No," Harry protested again, shaking his head as the prince pushed his legs apart and positioned himself at Harry's entrance, "I don't want this!" Harry could feel the thorns piercing his skin once more, but he continued to struggle as he felt the prince's hardened member push through the tight ring of muscles; Harry closed his eyes to prepare for the pain, and then the prince was entering him in one smooth stroke, and Harry was left with just a small burning pain.  
"I can safely say I'm not enjoying this," Harry said through gritted teeth as he glared at the blurry image of the prince above him.  
"Oh, but you will," the prince replied, pulling out slowly and then thrusting back in again, "It really would help if you would just relax Luv. You are so enchanting, your eyes are glowing like emeralds…and I love your smile."  
"You've never seen me smile," Harry said, finally giving up his struggles and laying there passively as the prince continued to slowly move within him.  
"You would be surprised," the prince replied, "I have seen you more than you know Harry." He reached down with one hand and began stroking Harry's member as he altered his angle, searching for that one spot that would have his lover seeing stars. The prince knew he had found it when Harry gasped, throwing his head back at the intense pleasure; now that he had found that spot the prince sped up the pace of his thrusts, making sure to hit it as often as possible.  
"Oh…that's…more," Harry moaned, lifting his hips to meet the prince's thrusts; he wrapped his legs around the silver-haired boys waist, surrendering to the pleasurable sensations.  
"You're mine Harry," the prince growled, releasing Harry's member in favor of tangling his fingers in the brunet's dark locks and pulling his head up for a searing kiss; he pressed their lips together harshly, leaving Harry breathless when he finally pulled away to trail kisses down the other boys neck. He paused at Harry's collar bone and nipped lightly, smirking when the brunet gasped and squirmed beneath him; the prince lapped at his pulse point and then set about leaving his mark on the others un-marred skin. "Mine," he growled again when he raised his head.  
"Please," Harry pleaded, "Touch me…need to…please!" His head was swimming-he had never felt anything this intense, between the pleasure whenever the prince hit his prostate and the small stinging pains from his earlier struggles against his bindings; he felt that he was so close to his release, he just needed…"More; please!"  
"Oh, I'll give you more," the prince panted, reaching on hand down to stroke Harry's erection again; "Do you want to come Luv? I'll give you everything you want-just say you're mine."  
"Wha-? Can't," Harry shook his head, "Need to…" he trailed off as the prince continued stroking him, enough to tease but not enough to send him over the edge; he knew that the only way to get what he needed was to give the prince what he wanted, and after all-it was just words…"Yours," he whispered.  
"What was that?" the prince teased, "I need to hear it; say you're mine Harry."  
"I'm…yours Prince," Harry said, "Please…let me!"  
"Yes," the prince growled, "Mine…" He began stroking more firmly as he increased the pace of his thrusts, "Come for me Harry! I want to feel your tight channel clench around me as I cum deep in your ass!" Harry moaned wordlessly, once again pulling on his bonds-since he was not trying to escape the thorns didn't prick him this time-as the pleasure wound tighter and tighter until he finally exploded over the prince's chest and his own stomach; Harry's release triggered the prince's and he thrust a few more times before stiffening as his spilled his seed inside Harry, before collapsing on top of the brunet.  
Once he got his breath back the prince pulled out of his lover and rolled over to the side so that he wasn't crushing the smaller boy. The prince then reached up and tugged on Harry's wrists; the vines fell away instantly, and he brought one wrist to his mouth, where he placed a gentle kiss against the broken skin.  
"I wish you hadn't fought like that," he said softly, kissing the other wrist; "Then again, you wouldn't be you if you had not fought. How do you feel?"  
"Tired," Harry murmured, allowing the prince to pull him until he was laying with his head on the blond's chest, "How sore am I going to be?"  
"Just a bit," the prince replied, "The spell I used to prepare you earlier should help with the soreness though, so it should not be too bad. Sleep now Luv; we can talk later."  
"I have…questions," Harry said mumbled, fighting against the sleep trying to claim him, "Need to know…" he trailed off sleepily and felt a soft kiss placed on his forehead.  
"Later," the prince said, "You'll understand everything; later." Harry wanted to argue, to demand answers now, but he was so tired…he mumbled grumpily for a few seconds, and then his breathing evened out as he fell asleep wrapped in a warm, comforting embrace.


	2. The Second Night

October 20

Harry awoke slowly, feeling deliciously refreshed. He stretched, and the twinge in his backside brought back the memories of the previous night; Harry sat up quickly and looked around in a panic, only calming when he saw that he was in his normal bed in Gryffindor tower, the dark red curtains pulled closed as usual and he could hear the soft snores of the other boys. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he sank back down into his pillows; it was all a dream-there was no Wild Hunt, and he hadn't been…taken by their prince. It was an interesting dream though, Harry mused as he rolled over onto his side; he gasped as his nose almost hit the box sitting on his pillow.

Curious, Harry reached outside his curtains and felt around until he found his glasses on the nightstand, and then he picked up the box; the box itself wasn't very large, and it was wrapped in black paper tied with a dark green bow, and there was a sheet of parchment on top. Harry unfolded the parchment and read;

"My Harry,

Although I would have liked to spend more time getting to know you, I felt that you needed your sleep and so I brought you back to your room. I had also noticed that you left a certain item behind when you attempted to run from the hunt, and so I have returned it. Inside the box you will find a mask, which was crafted especially for you; tonight, once you are in bed with the curtains drawn, put the mask on. We did not get much chance to talk yesterday but remember: you are my chosen, and you should behave as such. Though you may not see me I will be watching. I shall see you again soon.

Always,

Your Prince

Ps-You should tell the headmaster that you saw the Hunt so that he will discourage others from wandering at night-I will not be able to save any other students that cross our path."

Placing the letter aside Harry opened the box and the first thing he pulled out was his invisibility cloak; he hugged it to him for a moment-this was one of the few things he had that belonged to his parents, and when he was captured last night he thought it was lost forever. Harry set the cloak down and looked in the box once again; among layers of tissue paper he saw a mask covered in black velvet and embellished with diamonds and emeralds, adorned with a long black feather with a silver satin ribbon attached on either side to hold it in place. Harry lifted it out and found that it had a little weight to it, and it looked and felt expensive. He shook his head and put it back in the box before grabbing his wand-which he had stupidly left behind when he went wandering the night before-and casting a tempus charm; it was just after six-thirty, which was extremely early for a Sunday and explained why the other boys were still asleep.

Harry thought about going back to bed himself, but he felt oddly awake despite his nighttime adventure, and decided to take a shower. It wasn't until he was actually standing under the warm water that he allowed himself to think about the night before; he thought that he should be angry at the Fae prince, but when he remembered their time together he felt his lips turn up in a soft smile. The memory of being held, kissed and praised was something he treasured, although he did have to wonder why the prince chose to save him; the prince had known his name, so did he save him simply because he was Harry Potter?

Harry shook his head and reached for the washcloth, stopping short when he saw the tiny puncture marks on his wrist; he brought both wrists close to his face and saw that the puncture wounds went all the way around both wrists. The marks were tiny, and he doubted too many people would notice them, but Hermione was sure to and he didn't know if he would be able to come up with a reasonable explanation for how he got them; maybe he should go see Madame Pomfrey before breakfast and get her to heal them-she never asked too many questions, which Harry was extremely thankful for.

After his shower Harry dried off and quickly got dressed; when he reached for his glasses again he found a small box and another note sitting next to him. Upon opening the box Harry pulled out two silver bracelets that were inscribed with intricate runes; he put the bracelets on and found that they covered the marks on his wrist, so he turned his attention to the letter.

"Just a small gift to help you avoid nosey questions; you can allow your friends and teachers to test them, but they will find no curses." The note was unsigned, but there was only one person it could have come from.

Harry shook his head and entered the dorm room once again; the other boys were still sleeping, so he placed the box with his mask under the pillow-warding the box so no one could open it-and then placed the smaller empty box and both letters in his warded trunk. Once that was taken care of Harry headed down to the common room and saw that Hermione was already down there reading a book.

"Morning 'Mione," he called out, and the bushy-haired girl looked up in surprise.

"Oh! You startled me Harry; you aren't normally up this early on the weekend," she said, "Good morning to you as well; are you feeling alright? No nightmares?"

"No nightmares," Harry assured her with a smile, "I just got a good nights sleep for once and thought I'd go on down to breakfast; Ron and the others probably won't be up for a while."

"Oh, well I'll go to breakfast with you," Hermione offered, marking her place in the book and setting it on the nearby table, "We haven't had a chance to talk in ages; Ron is normally with us and all he ever wants to talk about is Quidditch, pranks, and how much he hates Professor Snape."

"Three things he and I have in common," Harry laughed as the two walked through the portrait hole and made their way down the hall, "What book were you reading?"

"Little Women," Hermione replied, "It was written by a well-known American authoress and is considered an American classic; I was in the mood to read it again."

"Oh, what's it about?"

"It's about the lives of four sisters growing up during the American Civil War," Hermione told him and then launched into a description of one of her favorite books.

The two continued to discuss books throughout breakfast-Hermione was one of the only people who knew that Harry actually enjoyed reading, and the two would often discuss childhood favorite's when they had time without Ron. It wasn't until breakfast was over that Hermione noticed Harry's new jewelry.

"Harry-where did you get those bracelets?" Hermione demanded, "They look very expensive."

"They were a gift," Harry replied, "Actually, it's very strange; last night I did feel restless at first and I walked up to one of the empty towers so that I could look outside. Around midnight I saw-well, I doubt you'll believe me, but you did ask-I saw a group of creatures in the sky, riding horses with smaller creatures in the clouds surrounding them."

"Harry Potter!" Hermione covered her mouth with her hands for a moment, looking horrified before she continued, "You-you saw the Wild Hunt! What happened? Did they see you? You didn't go outside did you? Did one of the riders give you those bracelets?"

"Calm down 'Mione," Harry said, "I didn't go outside, but someone did see me, and I…well, I got a message to warn the headmaster that the hunt was in the area and to make sure everyone knew to stay indoors after sundown. As for the bracelets-I found them this morning and I just…well, I put them on without thinking; I was going to try and speak to Dumbledore after breakfast."

"Idiot!" Hermione glared, getting to her feet and grabbing Harry by his wrist, dragging him behind her as she headed for the headmasters office, "How many times have you been told not to mess with strange objects? We'll go see the headmaster right now, and you had better hope that those bracelets aren't cursed or I will hex you myself!"

About fifteen minutes later-ten of which had been spent guessing different types of candy to discover the headmaster’s password-Harry and Hermione were sitting side-by-side in front of Dumbledore's desk while the headmaster looked at them expectantly over his half-moon spectacles.

"Well, what brings the two of you to my office at this time on a Sunday?" Dumbledore asked cheerfully, "No problems, I hope?"

"No problems," Harry said, "Only…well, I saw the Wild Hunt last night Professor; I was inside when they passed by, but one of the riders saw me, and this morning I received a letter advising me to let you know that the Hunt is in the area, as well as these." Harry held his hands out, showing Dumbledore the bracelets. Dumbledore leaned forward to examine the bracelets, but when he reached out to touch them they sent out a small electric shock.

"Well, I am unable to remove them," Dumbledore announced, "I would like to do some detection spells, but I am afraid they might react badly.

"Well, the letter said that you could examine the bracelets," Harry told him, "It said that you won't find any dark magic on them, but that you won't be able to remove them either. I wish the letter hadn't vanished, otherwise I could show it to you."

"Very often the Fae will choose one person to communicate through and they will make sure that no one else can read those communications," Dumbledore said, "If you'll hold still for a moment, I'll just cast those detection charms." Harry nodded his agreement and allowed Dumbledore to perform the tests.

"Well?" Hermione demanded anxiously, "Are they cursed?"

"I am happy to say that the bracelets are not cursed," Dumbledore informed them, "In fact, they have several protection charms, and I even detected an emergency port key spell that will activate if he is ever in danger; unfortunately, I am unable to determine where the port key will take him, and the bracelet also has a tracking charm on it. Whoever sent you that bracelet will be able to find you at any time Harry."

"Should I be worried?" Harry questioned, forcing his thoughts away from the mysterious Fae prince, "I mean if it was one of the Fae-"

"You have nothing to worry about," Dumbledore assured him, "Once you have the protection of a member of the Fae they will not allow harm to befall you. Now, I notice Mr. Weasley is not with you-perhaps you should go find him and reassure him that you and Miss Granger are not in any danger. I need to speak to Miss Granger about some Head Girl business."

"Okay," Harry agreed, "Thank you Professor; I'll see you in a bit 'Mione." Once Harry was gone, Dumbledore turned to Hermione with a solemn look.

"Miss Granger, I need you to keep an eye on Harry for me," he said, "Those bracelets do not appear to have any harmful spells on them, but it is extremely rare for the Fae to leave a gift to someone they have never met."

"Do you think one of our classmates could be Fae?" Hermione questioned, "Maybe they saw Harry standing at the window and had him warn you so that no one will be injured by the Hunt."

"It is possible," Dumbledore conceded, "If there is a member of the Fae here they will either ignore Harry during the day or spend more time than usual around him. The Hunt generally rides during the solstices, so I need to do some research to find out why they are out right now. I will be calling a Prefects meeting after lunch, and at dinner tonight I will make an announcement to the school. We will be extending the patrols, and all of the exits will be locked so that no one can be lured outside."

"I will go to the library and look up more ways to protect ourselves from the Fae," Hermione offered, "Also, maybe I can find a way to identify them."

"Very good," Dumbledore said approvingly, "Go now Miss Granger, and remember to keep a close eye on Harry."

"Of course," Hermione agreed, "I'll see you at lunch professor."

The rest of the day passed slowly for Harry; Hermione made sure that either she or Ron was with him at all times, and when they had to go to the Prefects meeting, he found Luna and Ginny at his side. Normally he didn’t mind the two girls-Luna especially was good at cheering him up and offering a distraction-but he resented the thought that he was being baby-sat.

When bed time came he was aware of Ron setting up alarms on the doors and windows-likely on Hermione’s orders-and he fought the urge to tell his friend that he could get around them if needed. He stayed up for a while making the customary small-talk that was common before going to sleep and then he closed and warded his curtains before taking out the box. He stared at the box for several moments before opening it, and then he gently lifted out the mask. Harry felt a tingle of magic that hadn’t been apparent earlier, and had to wonder if the mask was some sort of port key. He knew it was a high possibility and that he should simply put the mask away, but he couldn’t seem to do it. Instead, he raised the mask to his face-after removing his glasses- and let out a soft gasp as the ribbons dangling from the sides of the mask wound around his head, tying the mask firmly in place. It was strange to feel the weight of the mask covering his upper face, from forehead to nose, and even stranger to look out through the eyeholes. Harry was surprised to note that he was still able to see and marveled once again at the wonders of magic. He didn’t have too long to think about it however, before his body thrummed with magic; the world shimmered around him and then-he was in a large bedroom, with a servant kneeling before him.

“His Highness has sent me to make sure you are properly attired for the night to come,” came the soft voice, “You will find clothing behind the screen. I shall wait.” Feeling slightly unnerved Harry none-the-less went behind the screen to examine the set of clothes; his outfit for the night consisted of a pair of black trousers with laces up the side which would show patches of skin, a silk, emerald blouse like the type men wore generations ago, with laces up the front and lacey sleeves as well, and a pair of black knee-high boots. With slight trepidation Harry changed into the-in his opinion-outlandish clothing, feeling incredibly uncomfortable at the skin-tight fit and the flashes of skin seen though the laces on his trousers. Once he was dressed, he slipped his wand in his right boot; he was curious to see how the night would play out, but he had no intention of being at the prince’s mercy again.

When he stepped out from around the screen the servant directed him to a chair and removed the mask. He was ordered to sit still as his hair was brushed and somehow lengthened until it was long enough to be pulled back with a leather tie; then he fought not to blink as liner was applied to his eyes, and he was immensely grateful that nothing else was done. The servant placed the mask back on him, and then escorted him to an ornate silver door which led him into an even larger room-where the prince from the night before was waiting.

“You never told me your name,” Harry said after several minutes when the prince did not turn to face him. At the sound of his voice the prince turned and crossed the room, taking Harry’s chin in his hand and tilted the brunet’s face up so that he could give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“No,” came the melodic reply, “I didn’t. The masque has already begun, are you ready my Pet?” Harry didn’t reply at first; he was too busy staring at the prince. Last night the prince was little more than a glowing silver form with hypnotic blue eyes shining out from behind a mask, but tonight Harry could see that the prince was fit, a little taller than him, and his silver hair was waist-length.

“I-a masque?” Harry replied nervously, “Is there-I’m not a good dancer.”

“You will be,” the prince said; he held out his arm and escorted Harry to the door. The door had several different jewels above the handle, and the prince touched one before opening it; when the door opened Harry found that they were able to step directly from the prince’s rooms into a ballroom where two golden figures were sitting on thrones. The prince led him up to the thrones and bowed; Harry followed suit, not really sure how to behave.

“Good evening son,” the king said, “Are you pleased with your chosen?”

“I am Father,” the prince replied, “Good evening Mother.”

“My son,” Harry could hear the smile in the queen’s voice, and when he looked at her he could just make out kind eyes the same color as her son’s, “You have chosen well. Good evening, Harry Potter.”

“Um, good evening Majesty,” Harry replied nervously, unsure how to address the shining figures before him.

“You must decide when to formally announce your chosen consort,” the king said, “It must be before Samhain comes to an end.”

“Yes, Father,” the prince replied, “I would like to have the celebration at midnight on All Hallows Eve.”

“It shall be done,” the queen said, “We will discuss the celebration later; for now take your chosen and enjoy the masque.” The prince bowed to his parents once more and Harry did the same before he was led away from the thrones and into the crowd of shining figures moving gracefully about the dancefloor.

“I’m going to look like a fool,” Harry muttered as the prince took him in his arms.

“Nonsense,” the prince scoffed, “You simply have to follow my lead; surely not even you can mess that up.” Once again Harry felt that the voice was familiar, but he was unable to place it as the prince began to move, effortlessly finding them a place amongst the dancers. As they danced Harry looked at the other beings on the floor and realized that most of them did not shine the way the royal family did; there were two beings on the edge of the dance floor that were obscured by a dark glow-Harry didn’t understand how a glow could be dark, but it was-but aside from that couple he was able to plainly see the other dancers, and they were the most beautiful beings he had ever seen. The men and women were both tall and willowy, all with long hair-even the men had hair down to their waist-and ornate clothing. Harry found it quite easy to let the prince lead him around the dance floor while he took in all the beauty surrounding him.

It felt like they spent hours twirling around the ballroom before the prince led him once more to stand before the thrones.

“Mother. Father,” the prince bowed respectfully and Harry found himself doing the same, “I have decided not to bring Harry along on the hunt tonight, so we shall bid you good-night.”

“Good-night son,” the king said, “Good-night, Harry Potter, chosen consort.” Harry mumbled what he hope was an appropriate reply, and turned to go.

“I shall have refreshments sent to your room darling,” the queen said, “since you are leaving before the start of the banquet. Tomorrow night you are excused from the festivities so that you can spend more time with your consort.”

“Thank you, Mother,” the prince replied and then took Harry by the arm leading him out of the room.

When they reached the princes’ chambers Harry saw that there was a small table set up with light snacks-fruit, cheese and a dark red beverage that could be juice or wine.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” the prince asked as he pulled out a chair for Harry.

“Yes,” Harry replied, “It wasn’t nearly as bad as the other time I had to dance. Why don’t the rest of the people glow like you and your parents? I only saw one other couple glowing, and their glow was a really dark purple.” The prince handed him a plate and Harry placed some apple slices, a handful of grapes and a few slices of cheese on it before accepting a glass of the red drink that the prince offered. He took a sip and discovered that it was juice; very sweet and unlike anything he had ever tasted before.

“You must get to know me before you can see my true identity,” the prince responded to his question, “Those closest to me shall also appear as shining figures, but the more you come to know and trust me the clearer you shall be able to see us; it is an ancient magic that has been used for generations when it is time for a member of the Fae to choose a consort.”

“Oh,” Harry said, “What were your parents talking about earlier? Announcing your choice?”

“I have chosen you as my consort,” the prince said, “If a member of the Fae does not have a chosen by the time he or she reaches their inheritance then they will ride with the hunt to see if they chance upon someone who captures their interest. The Hunt generally only rides during the two weeks prior the solstices and equinoxes, however when a Fae is searching for their chosen the Hunt may ride more often. In all cases, the Hunt only rides for two weeks, and if a consort is chosen then it must be announced and made official before the two weeks has ended.”

“But what does it mean?” Harry asked, “You and your parents keep saying I’m your chosen, but I don’t understand it! Does this mean that when the two weeks is up I have to stay with you?”

“As my chosen you shall remain with me always,” the prince replied nonchalantly, “You are mine, and you will never leave me.”

“You can’t-you can’t do that!” Harry protested, “You can’t just decide to…to…bind me to you for all eternity, or whatever! I have a life and friends and…and…and a destiny! You can’t force me to stay with you!”

“Actually, I can,” the prince said, taking an apple slice and gesturing for Harry to continue eating; after a moment of hesitation Harry did as he was bidden, and the prince continued, “You were outside while The Hunt was riding and you were captured by dark beings; I saved your life and therefore you belong to me. Furthermore, you accepted my hand and you also accepted the gifts I sent you; this means that you accept my courtship.”

“What?! No-I didn’t know that accepting the mask and bracelets meant something!” Harry yelled, “And…this just…it isn’t right! It isn’t fair!”

“The world is not fair,” came the drawling reply, “Surely you, of all people, know that Harry Potter. This discussion is pointless however; I have claimed you and now you are mine-you had best resign yourself to your fate. Also, you will not be able to speak about any of this to anyone until after Samhain. Now, what questions do you have?” Harry was silent for a moment, glaring at the shining figure before him; finally he sighed and decided he should get as much information as possible; maybe the prince would let something slip that would help him get out of this situation.

“Fine; why did you offer to save me last night?” He continued to eat the food in front of him and sip from his juice as they spoke; the juice was really addictive…

“You were far too beautiful to be taken by the Darklings,” the prince said, “What they would do to one as fair and pure as you…well, you would not wish to know.”

“What about school? I have to finish…and fight Voldemort, too,” Harry said.

“Of course you shall finish school,” the prince said, “As for the Dark Lord…we will cross that bridge when we get to it. What else?”

“How did you know my name? You seem to know so much about me, and you seem so familiar…”

“We have, of course, met before, however I am not going to tell you when or where. I believe that is enough conversation for tonight; come,” the prince stood, offering his hand and pulling Harry to his feet. Harry didn’t have a chance to catch his balance before he was pulled into a tight embrace and found lips pressing insistently against his own.

“Oh!” Harry gasped, and the prince took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside the brunet’s mouth, thoroughly tasting him. One strong arm wrapped around Harry’s waist and the other hand tangled itself in Harry’s dark locks, holding him still for the prince to ravish; Harry would never admit it, but that tight grip on his hair made his knees go weak and he was actually glad for the prince holding him up. Preoccupied as he was with the mouth laying claim to his own, Harry didn’t realize the prince was moving him into the bedroom until the back of his legs hit the bed and he fell down with a startled cry.

“You are delectable, Pet,” the prince said, shamelessly looking Harry up and down as he removed his clothing; it was odd, Harry thought, to see clothing materialize out of the silver glow that was the prince, but he supposed it was no more odd than dancing with and kissing someone he couldn’t properly see.

“What-what are you doing?” Harry asked nervously as he watched a pair of trousers appear on the floor.

“You mean what are we doing,” the prince corrected, “And after last night you should already know the answer to that question.”

“No!” Harry protested, rolling off the side of the bed; he got to his feet and glared at the prince; “I’m not-you’re not…it’s not bloody happening again!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the prince scoffed, “Of course I am going to fuck you again…tonight and the night after and for as many nights as I wish for the rest of our lives. You forget, Harry, that you belong to me now, and I won’t be denied. Besides-you certainly enjoyed yourself last night.”

“You forced me!” Harry protested, “And…you probably used a spell! I won’t let you do it again!” Harry reached for his wand-only to realize it was missing; when he looked up with wide eyes he saw the prince twirling a familiar piece of holly between his fingers.

“Looking for this, Luv?” Harry couldn’t see the smirk but he could hear it, and it was enough to make Harry leap across the bed and attack the prince.

“That’s mine! Give it back!” The prince seemed to have been expecting this reaction, however, because he simply side-stepped the brunet before grabbing him by the arm and flinging him down on the bed. Harry saw his wand carelessly tossed over the prince’s shoulder and made to go after it, but the prince quickly straddled him and grabbed Harry’s wrists, pressing them to the bed as he had the night before.

“No!” Harry shook his head, struggling to escape the vice-like grip, “I don’t want this! Let me go!” He bucked his hips in an effort to dislodge his captor, but the prince merely laughed.

“Merlin, I love seeing that fire in your eyes,” the prince said, leaning in to kiss Harry; the brunet growled and snapped at him, causing the prince to chuckle again, “Now, now Pet; that wasn’t nice. You know you enjoyed yourself last night, and you really have no choice in this, so why not give in gracefully?”

“Never, you conceited, spoiled prat!” Harry spat, his struggles increasing when he felt the bracelets pulse around his wrists before the prince let them go; it seemed, in addition to protective magic, the bracelets could also be used as restraints-well that would teach Harry to go around putting jewelry on without checking it out first. At least this time his restraints didn’t hurt him; “Ow!” Harry tilted his head back and saw that the bracelets had turned back into the rose vines of the night before. Since he could see, thanks to the enchanted mask he wore, Harry noticed that the rosebuds-for none of the roses were in bloom-were all a brilliant scarlet red, more beautiful than any he had ever seen.

“It’s your blood,” the prince said softly, and Harry turned his gaze back to that shining figure, “Your blood strengthens the roses, and when they are in full bloom our bond will be completed. Have you calmed down yet?”

“I’ll make you regret this,” Harry promised, “I may not be able to get out of this tonight, but I will make you regret it.”

“Such a sweet talker you are, Harry,” the prince purred, lowering himself so that he covered Harry’s body, “Did you know, the clothes you’re wearing are an enchantment?” Harry blinked rapidly, startled by the sudden change in conversation, “Yes, they are an enchantment…a glamour woven from spider webs and other items that you would probably rather not know about. And do you know the best part? At midnight, the enchantment will vanish, leaving me free to ravish your gorgeous body.” After the prince revealed this new information Harry latched onto, what he felt, was the most relevant part.

“Won’t the spider webs and stuff be in your bed then?” Harry asked, somehow finding that more disturbing than the thought of being naked with the prince on top of him; “That could get uncomfortable.”

“That’s what banishing charms are for,” came the reply, “Now-as striking as you look with that mask on, I find myself wishing to see your eyes when they aren’t hidden in shadows.” The prince made quick work of the mask, setting it on the bedside table. “Much better.”

“Now I can’t see,” Harry scowled, then gasped as he felt a tingle of magic-and then immediately felt the prince’s heated skin against his own naked flesh. “I don’t want-ah!” Harry’s protests were cut short when the prince began nibbling on his earlobe; “D-don’t! I don’t…don’t want it!” His body’s reactions belied his words however, and he couldn’t stop his gasp when the prince began circling his nipples with long, nimble fingers. The prince pinched them lightly, slowly increasing the pressure until Harry squirmed and whimpered at the slight pain; he then trailed kisses across Harry’s cheek and down to his neck, before settling in to lick and nibble at his collarbone as he had the previous night. Harry fleetingly wondered why there hadn’t been a visible mark when he woke that morning, but it was quickly pushed aside for a more immediate concern-when was that bastard going to kiss him again? For some reason, those kisses were addictive, but the prince seemed to be deliberately avoiding kissing him. Harry opened his mouth to demand that the prince kiss him, but was distracted when the prince trailed one hand down his stomach to teasingly stroke his erection.

“Why fight this, Harry?” the prince whispered, hot breath ghosting across Harry’s ear, “It feels good, doesn’t it?” Harry replied with a moan as he arched into the touch, turning his head aside in an attempt to get away from that sinful voice. “I want you Harry, more than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything…don’t deny me.” Soft kisses were once again scattered across his face-on his cheeks, eyelids and forehead, but never his lips and it was driving Harry to distraction.

“Sneaky, slimy…git,” Harry managed to growl, “Kiss me properly, you bastard!” The prince chuckled but complied, pressing his lips to Harry’s in a chaste kiss that swiftly turned passionate as his hand dropped down from Harry’s erection to tease his tight hole.

“N-no,” Harry still fought against it; just because this felt good it didn’t mean he wanted… _that_. “Lube…” Well, okay; maybe he did want it…but he was sure it was because the juice at supper had been laced with a lust potion. Although, if that had been the case he wouldn’t have been protesting at all…maybe lust potions were similar to the Imperius and Harry was mostly immune to them? That had to be it; the prince had probably given him a large dose of lust potion which is why…Harry’s thought process derailed as he felt a slick finger breach his entrance; the prince had obviously been a busy little Fae while Harry was preoccupied with his thoughts.

“See?” the prince whispered against his mouth, “Isn’t it so much better when you just enjoy it? No one else will ever make you feel this way.” He slipped another finger in, carefully stretching Harry.

“Cocky bastard,” Harry retorted, then his eyes widened and his back arched when those sinful fingers touched that spot inside him. “F-fuck!” He could feel the prince’s smirk against his lips but he didn’t really care; a part of him knew he should be fighting this, but he could still vividly remember how he had felt the night before and he wanted that again. When a third finger was introduced Harry gasped at the slight sting, and the prince kissed his way down Harry’s chest to lick and bite at his nipples, seemingly intent on turning Harry into a being comprised entirely of need…and he appeared to be succeeding, if Harry’s gasps and pleas for “More…please more!” and “Now! Stop teasing!” were anything to go by.

Finally, the prince pulled his fingers away and smirked at Harry’s whine of displeasure. He place a reassuring kiss on his lips and propped himself up to look deep into emerald eyes which had darkened with pleasure and need.

“Can I…can you give me a name to call you?” Harry asked, his rational mind taking over for just a moment; he really would feel more comfortable if he could refer to him as something other than “the prince”.

“Dragon,” came the reply, whispered against his lips, “You can call me Dragon, Harry. Are you ready?” Harry nodded; he wanted his release so badly…

“Yes…Dragon,” he said, rolling his hips up so that their erections touched, “Want you…I want you in me. Now.”

“So bossy, my little Lion,” Dragon laughed, kissing Harry again as he positioned himself at the brunet’s entrance; “It’s such a turn on…just don’t forget who’s in charge here.” He surged forward and penetrated Harry with one thrust, causing the boy to arch his back and cry out at the sudden pain; Dragon had stretched him carefully though, so the pain wasn’t really that bad-it was more of a shock than anything else.

“Asshole!” Harry hissed, struggling so that the vines-which had lay dormant so far-pierced his skin, “That fucking hurt!”

“Then let me make it up to you,” Dragon’s voice was pure sin as he pulled out and immediately thrust back in, aiming for and hitting Harry’s prostrate. “Better?”

“G-gonna…fuck! Kick your…oh, right there! Ass!” Harry’s threat didn’t hold much weight-the prince actually had the gall to laugh when he made it!-as he was gasping from the pleasure of having his prostate hit repeatedly. He decided to forgive the prince, however, once those amazing lips descended to capture his own in another bruising kiss. Harry was nearly lost in pure bliss, but…he wanted more. He tore his lips away from Dragon’s, turning his head to the side as he fought to get his breath back; not an easy task with Dragon masterfully fucking him into the mattress.

“Dragon…touch me,” Harry meant for it to be a command, but it came out more like a plea, especially when he couldn’t help but add; “Please? Need…need you to touch me!”

“Of course, Luv,” Dragon purred, nipping at the smooth skin Harry has so willingly revealed when he tilted his head back; “You know what I want to hear.” Harry’s lust-filled eyes showed confusion for a moment, but then he remembered the night before and scowled.

“Not-not a possession!” He protested, whimpering as he felt himself close to the edge but unable to fall. “Please?” He looked at Dragon with pleading green eyes and received another kiss, followed by a hand loosely gripping his erection.

“I need to hear it Harry,” Dragon said, “Tell me you’re mine; no one else will have to know.” He peppered more kisses across Harry’s face and down the expanse of his neck. “You know how good I can make it…just three little words and I can give you complete bliss.”

“Bastard!” Harry ground out as Dragon stopped moving completely, “Please Dragon?” Dragon merely kissed him gently before pulling back to look down at him with patient silver-ringed eyes that had Harry squirming; the prince looked as if he was prepared to wait forever, but Harry needed his release _now_ , so he capitulated. “Slimy evil manipulative git,” of course, no one said he had to give in gracefully, “I’m yours, alright? Now let me cum!”

“Really, where are your manners?” the prince sounded amused, but he still wasn’t moving, “That wasn’t quite what I had in mind, Harry.” Dragon began moving again, keeping his thrusts a shallow tease, “Now, say it again Luv. Or, I could always relieve myself and leave you wanting until tomorrow night…”

“No,” Harry protested, moaning and trying to draw Dragon deeper into his body, “Please Dragon; I’m yours. Ah!” He cried out as Dragon slammed back into him and also began stroking him more firmly. “So…so good!”

“Much better, Luv,” Dragon purred, his lips a hairsbreadth away from Harry’s, teasing him with the promise of a kiss even as he brought them both closer to completion. Dragon nipped his bottom lip before pulling back again. “Say it again, and I might just kiss you.” Dragon said it teasingly, but Harry could hear him panting harshly, and the sound served to make him even harder.

“Kiss me, Dragon,” he said, “Kiss me…I’m yours.” Dragon made a pleased sound before swooping down to kiss him fiercely, engaging Harry’s tongue in a mad battle for dominance as he increased the pace of his thrusts inside Harry’s body and his strokes on Harry’s cock. Harry began pulling at his bonds again as he came closer to gaining his release, and he whimpered into the kiss before throwing his head back as the force of his orgasm overtook him; he was vaguely aware of Dragon thrusting inside him a few more times before the prince stiffened and he felt warmth flooding inside him.

After regaining his breath Dragon pulled out of Harry and-just as he had done the night before- released him from his bonds; there was a strange tingle around his wrists as the vines became bracelets once again. Dragon pulled Harry close and the brunet hesitantly lay with his head on the prince’s shoulder, one hand lying on his chest where he could feel the slowly calming heartbeat. He wanted to ask the prince more questions, but he was so tired…

“Why?” he asked, before yawning, “Why am I so tired?”

“It is hard for a mortal to be within the Fae realm until they have been fully bonded to one of the Fae,” Dragon explained, “Your body will slowly adjust.”

“I didn’t have a mark this morning,” Harry remembered thinking about it earlier, and decided he might as well ask, “On my neck. You marked me last night, but it was gone in the morning.”

“As much as I would love for everyone to know you belong to me,” Dragon said softly, carding his fingers through Harry’s dark locks, “It is better not to advertise our bond for now; it’s still too new and there are certain meddlers who do not need to know. Remember; you can’t tell anyone about this.”

“Hermione will figure it out eventually,” Harry said with certainty, “She always figures everything out. Well, except for the one time I found Nicholas Flamel.”

“It will take her time to figure it all out,” Dragon said unconcernedly, “It will be hard for even her to get information when she can’t find any books.” There it was again; that smug tone that reminded him so much of…someone. “Go to sleep, Luv; we will talk more next time.” Harry wanted to protest-both against sleeping and against there being a next time-but he really was tired…maybe he would just rest his eyes for a moment...


	3. The Third Night

October 21

Harry awoke in his bed again the next morning, but this time he had no delusions about the previous night being a dream. He let his mind wander back to the masque and his time with Dragon, and realized that he actually enjoyed being with the prince. Sure, he could be an arrogant bastard, but being with Dragon felt familiar, and even safe. Harry still wasn’t really happy with the forced sex but he knew, from one of Hermione’s lectures the day before, that the Fae were perfectly within their rights to demand sex as payment for rescuing someone from the wild hunt; plus, it’s wasn’t like Harry didn’t enjoy himself.

Harry just wished he knew more about the prince; it would be useful to know more about Fae customs as well. According to Dragon the library here at Hogwarts wouldn’t have any useful books, but he did have access to another library; Sirius-who had gone through the Veil during the Battle at the Ministry-had left Grimmauld Place to Harry in his will, and the library was full of rare and useful books-he could have Dobby go get them. The only problem was knowing what books he would need…

After thinking about it for a moment Harry vaguely recalled Hermione saying something about all of the text books having a section at the back for additional reading suggestions, and so he quietly snuck out of bed, grabbed his glasses, and opened his trunk, digging through the layers of sweets and pranks until he came to his history book-still in its original wrapping; well, it’s not like he ever used it in class! He took the book back to bed with him and pulled the curtains closed so that Ron wouldn’t see him and get suspicious.

First he read the small section in the book that spoke about the Fae, but it was barely two pages long, so he turned to the suggested reading section and copied down the titles of several books. Once he had his list he put the book back in his trunk-if Hermione saw it she would demand to know why he had finally opened it-and noticed his mask from the night before sitting innocuously amongst his other belongings. He gently touched the mask, then shook himself and closed and locked the trunk.

Harry made his way to the bathroom, started the shower, and then called Dobby. Dobby was, of course, more than eager to help Harry out and promised to get as many of the books on the list as possible and leave them in Harry’s trunk so he could look at them later. He also promised not to breathe a word about it to anyone and, once he was gone, Harry was able to go about his morning routine feeling much better in knowing that he would soon have more information about this new situation he had gotten himself into.

Once he had taken his shower and gotten dressed, Harry was faced with a dilemma; Ron had placed alarm spells around the door, and Harry wasn’t sure what to do. Sure, he could disable them easily-had Ron forgotten who Harry’s godfather was?-but then Ron would probably do something even more annoying when it was time for bed that night. Either that, or he and Hermione would decide that the Fae had done something to him and watch him even more closely. That left only one other option, and since Ron had set the alarms he would let the red-head deal with the consequences. He gathered the books he would need for his morning classes-even though he still had two hours before potions-and grasped the doorknob.

As soon as he touched the doorknob loud alarms began going off, but Harry blatantly ignored them and walked downstairs to the common room, where he almost ran into Hermione as she rushed towards the boy’s dorm.

“Harry!” She cried, “What happened? Is everything okay? Was it the Fae?”

“Everything’s fine ‘Mione,” Harry said, “Some idiot decided to set an alarm ward on the door and it was triggered when I decided to come down for breakfast.”

“Well, why didn’t you fix it?” Hermione demanded, hands on her hips.

“Because I didn’t set it,” Harry replied, meeting her gaze head-on; “Whoever set it can deal with the consequences; I want breakfast. If you want, I can wait here until you get ready and we can go down together.”

“If we do that Ron will probably get the wrong idea,” Hermione said reluctantly, “You go ahead; Ron and I will be down in a little while.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, “See you in a bit.”

It wasn’t until he ran into Malfoy in the hallway that he realized this was the first time he’d been down to breakfast by himself all year; sure, sometimes he walked a little ahead of or behind Hermione and Ron, who had taken to bickering even more now that the redhead had realized he liked Hermione and didn’t know how to deal with it, but they had always been right behind him.

“What happened to your entourage Potter?” Draco sneered, “Did you manage to give them the slip? Or maybe you got their father’s imprisoned as well and they finally abandoned you.” The angry retort that was on the tip of Harry’s tongue disappeared as he processed what Malfoy said, and he felt overwhelmed with guilt.

“I’m sorry Malfoy,” he said quietly, “I-your father wasn’t very nice and he watched Voldemort torture me on more than one occasion but…I tried to tell the minister he hadn’t done anything that night. He actually tried to save Sirius from going through the veil, but no one would believe me. Well, that’s not true; the few who did believe me decided that meant Sirius was definitely a Death Eater and he and your dad were working together.”

“Oh, Poor Orphan Potter,” Draco scoffed, “Of course you tried to save Father; wouldn’t want to be responsible for taking someone else’s parents away, would you? Did you hear? Father vanished from his cell; they are claiming he escaped and they tore apart my home looking for him, but I know the truth. If Father had escaped he would not have done so alone-they did something to him, and now they just want an excuse to take my mother from me too; or perhaps they simply want to lock us all away. What do you think, Saint Potter?”

“I-I didn’t know Lucius was missing,” Harry murmured, thinking it over, “I don’t believe he escaped-he as far as I know he doesn’t have the same…ability that allowed Sirius to escape, and if Voldemort had freed him he would have freed the others as well-including your Aunt Bellatrix, who I am told was one of his favorites. Something…something strange is going on…” Harry shook himself out of his musings to find Draco gazing at him with wary grey eyes, and it was at that moment that he realized he probably hadn’t reacted the way the Slytherin was expecting; not once had he risen to the bait and argued with him, and it made Malfoy uneasy. Well, Hermione was always saying how they were sixteen now and needed to put old grudges behind him, so perhaps he would take her advice.

“I hope you find him safe,” Harry said to Malfoy, turning towards the Great Hall with the blond falling into step beside him, “No one deserves to lose a parent…” of course, he couldn’t just leave it at that, not after nearly six years of rivalry; “not even a slimy, sneaky, Slytherin like you.” To his surprise Draco didn’t get offended-instead corners of his mouth tilted up a bit and it looked like he was trying to hold back a smile.

“Thank you, I suppose,” The Slytherin drawled, “I appreciate the well-wishes…even if you are an idiotic Gryffindor.” The two had reached the Great Hall now, and they shared a look before turning and going to their separate tables.

That had been…interesting, Harry decided as he placed a bit of fruit and some toast on his plate. He knew without looking that Malfoy would be seated at the Slytherin table directly across from him-exactly how they had always sat in the Great Hall, and suddenly it felt like a familiar routine. He poured himself a goblet of pumpkin juice and grimaced at the taste; his food wasn’t very appetizing either, and he thought it was probably because the food he had eaten the previous night had been so…rich. It was like, he mused as he reluctantly ate another bite, having frozen orange juice when you were used to having fresh. He forced himself to eat a whole orange and a piece of toast, which he washed down with water as it was somehow less offensive than the juice, and then decided he was done. As he pushed his plate away and stood up his gaze wandered to the Slytherin table, where he saw Draco looking at him in confusion. Harry raised an eyebrow, Draco smirked in reply, and then Harry walked past the Slytherin table and headed towards the dungeons, determined to look over his potions essay before the start of class.

The rest of the day passed fairly normally for Harry; he was called to Dumbledore’s office after lunch where the headmaster asked if he had seen the Hunt again the previous night. Dumbledore seemed shocked when Harry said no, so he quickly added that he had felt a compulsion to at least go to a window and look for them but that he had managed to fight it off like the Imperious Curse, and Dumbledore seemed to buy it. Dinner was spent trying to ignore Ginny, who was blatantly flirting with him and ignoring her brother’s disapproving glare; Harry didn’t really mind that much as he knew Ginny was just trying to get Dean’s attention after the boy had ditched her to hang out with Seamus, who everyone knew was bi and had a crush on his dark-skinned roommate. Harry had to admit, there was something entrancing about the bright white smile set in that dark face-the contrast was…well, it was nothing compared to what he had seen of the prince so far. It wasn’t until Ginny snuggled against his side that Harry remembered the princes warning note the day before, but he decided that even if Dragon did have a way of keeping tabs on him this wouldn’t get him in trouble; he was just helping a friend, and it wasn’t like he was kissing her or anything.

After dinner he once again went to his room and sat up talking to the other boys for a while before climbing into his bed and closing and warding the curtains. It was only after he had done so that Harry saw the rose sitting on his pillow; it was a brilliant red rose, the bud only partially opened and Harry couldn’t help but smile as he picked it up. Wrapped around the stem was a piece of paper, and written upon it in elegant script were the words “When you are ready simply say ‘Dragon’. Until tonight, Love.” Harry debated for a moment, staring at both the note and the rose; he probably shouldn’t go. Scratch that; he knew he had to be at least twice as insane as Voldemort if he was even considering going back, but…

“Dragon.”

As soon as Harry spoke the world around him shimmered and found himself back in Dragon’s bedroom, but the prince was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, Harry made his way to the door, only to jump back in surprise when they suddenly swung inwards and Dragon entered the room.

“Hello, Pet,” Dragon said, and Harry took a few steps back at the menacing tone in his voice, “You were not on your best behavior today, were you? I know what happened with that red-headed whore who was clinging to you.”

“She’s not a whore!” Harry defended his best friends little sister, “And she was only doing it to make her boyfriend jealous! Ginny and I aren’t-we aren’t like that!” Harry gasped when the prince grabbed him by the arm and spun him around pushing him against the door; the he found himself trapped in those unusual eyes.

“You have no feelings towards her?” Dragon demanded, “You are not trying to leave me for her?”

“No!” Harry denied, “I’m not interested in her! I-” The rest of his protest was lost as Dragon pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss; when they parted Harry was light-headed and breathless and didn’t fight as the prince led him over to the bed. He was surprised, however, when he was pushed down and then rolled over onto his stomach.

“What are you doing?” Harry questioned, yelping when his clothes were unceremoniously vanished; “Hey!”

“You may not have intended disrespect, however your actions were inappropriate,” Dragon informed him “Therefore you will receive a punishment; since it was unintentional you will receive ten spankings.”

“Spankings?” Harry protested, “No-you can’t-!”

“I can increase it to twenty, if you like,” the prince offered, and Harry shook his head quickly, “As I thought. Ten spankings is nothing; just accept it and this will be over in no time.” He didn’t give Harry a chance to respond, but immediately smacked his ass with his open hand; Harry squirmed at the stinging pain but Dragon’s other hand pressed the back of his neck, keeping him in place as he delivered the next blow. The ten blows were uncomfortable, but not overly painful although Harry was embarrassed at the situation. When it was done his ass felt warm and he had tears in his eyes from the humiliation of it.

“Now, all that remains is for you to apologize and we will put this behind us,” the prince informed Harry, pulling him into a sitting position.

“I-I’m still not sure exactly what I did,” Harry protested, “I can’t apologize unless I know what I did wrong, otherwise I might make the same mistake again.”

“Hmm, I guess you aren’t totally lacking in intelligence,” Harry glared up at the prince, and noticed that his form was more defined than before; he could see long, pale hair in addition to the enchanting silver-ringed eyes. “You, Harry, have been claimed by me. This means that you will not initiate intimacies with anyone other than myself, nor will you encourage another’s advances towards you. Allowing the red-headed-the Weasley girl to practically sit on your lap counts as encouraging her to make advances on you.”

“Oh,” Harry said softly, “Well…I mean…I didn’t think anyone would take it like that; she’s my best friends little sister and I’m not interested in her like that. I don’t see why I should apologize; all she did was lean up against me and we talked about Quidditch. It was nothing different from what Hermione and I do; I see her as a sister more than anything else.”

“Cannot you not simply apologize for giving the impression that you had interest in the girl?” Dragon demanded, “And assure me that you will not encourage any other advances in the future?”

“I-I guess,” Harry said, “I’m sorry for making it look like I was interested in Ginny and I will try not to let anything like that happen again.”

“I suppose that will do,” the prince sighed, “Just know that if it does happen again in the future your punishment will be far worse than ten spankings. Now, are you hungry? Or would you perhaps like to see the stables first?”

“I’d like to see the stables,” Harry replied, “I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride a horse.”

“You rode a hippogriff once, so a horse should be no problem for you,” came the sardonic reply, “If you step behind the screen you will find a riding outfit waiting for you.”

Harry stepped behind the screen, his mind whirring; if the prince knew about him riding a hippogriff then he was probably a Hogwarts student…or possibly one who had already graduated. He did seem very familiar…Harry sighed and shook his head; whatever magic was in place to keep the prince’s identity a secret worked very well. Harry located the clothes that had been set out for him, and soon he was dressed in a pair of dark brown breeches, a green tunic, and a pair of soft brown boots.

Once he was dressed Harry stepped out from behind the screen and saw that the prince was holding a brush and a hair tie; it wasn’t until he was sitting down with the prince brushing his hair that Harry that he realized his hair was long here, but it had been short back at Hogwarts.

“Magic,” Dragon said when Harry asked him about it, “Any changes that occur here will not appear in the other realm until after our bonding ceremony. There; now we may go.” Harry reached behind him and found that his hair had been bound in a braid, keeping it safely out of the way. When Dragon walked to the door he followed close behind, and saw that the prince touched a different jewel than he had the night before; this time when the door opened it led directly into a stable.

Once in the stables, Dragon took Harry’s hand and led him to all the different stalls, showing him the many different steeds kept by his family; there were winged horses (some of which blew fire), horses that appeared to be made out of light, out of darkness, out of lightning…the list went on and on, and there were even a handful of normal horses. At the far end of the stable was an empty stall and Dragon led him inside it.

“This is where your steed will be created,” Dragon informed him, keeping hold of his hand to pull him inside the stall, “All Fae have one steed that is created just for them and will be loyal to them unto death.”

“How is it created?” Harry asked curiously as he looked around; the stall held only a couple bales of hay and some basic tack.

“Magic, mostly,” Dragon replied, “and you have to give of yourself as well, of course.”

“Give of myself?” Harry questioned, “You mean blood?” Dragon hummed and let go of Harry’s hand, only to wrap an arm around his waist instead.

“That is an option,” he said, “Or, I could bend you over this haystack and you can contribute a different bodily fluid.”

“But then you would…your own as well,” Harry stammered, blushing, “and the horse wouldn’t be loyal to me, right?”

“It would be loyal to both of us,” Dragon replied, “Unless you have a reason why you might want your steed to attack me?”

“If it’s loyal to both of us the horse won’t throw you off,” Harry said, and Dragon nodded so he added; “If you annoy me I may want him to throw you off, so I want my horse to be loyal to me.”

“Prat,” Dragon laughed lightly, and Harry was surprised to feel pleased that he had made the prince laugh, “Very well; would you like to borrow my dagger?” Dragon released his hold on Harry and handed him a small silver blade before stepping out of the stall. “Just a few drops of blood will do.”

“Where do I put it?” Harry questioned, looking around.

“Just let it fall on the ground,” Dragon told him, “It doesn’t matter where.” Harry nodded and slid his thumb against the blade, hissing as it sliced his skin. The cut wasn’t very deep, so he squeezed until a few drops splashed down, mingling with the dirt. Within seconds Harry felt magic stirring around him, and the air became too heavy to breathe. He backed out of the stall, and Dragon reached in and pulled him out of the way just before the door slammed closed and the stall was surrounded by a dark violet light.

“Your steed will be ready in time for the ceremony to announce our engagement,” Dragon informed him, keeping his arms around Harry’s wait and backing away from the stall, “Come; I’ll show you some of our land.” He maneuvered until he just had one arm around Harry’s waist and then pulled the brunet to the stall which contained Argent, Dragon’s horse.

“You don’t have to keep touching me,” Harry grumbled, “I can walk on my own.”

“I do not doubt it,” Dragon replied, “I’m more worried about you trying to run away and getting injured; while none of my parent’s subjects would harm you, there are still dangerous wild animals here, and the Darklings only follow my orders if I am in front of them.” Dragon helped Harry to mount Argent, then led the horse out of the stables before settling in behind the brunet. “What would you like to see? The mountains? Forests? Valleys?”

“I don’t know,” Harry hesitated, “Will you take me somewhere that you like to go?”

“Of course,” Dragon said, “There is a place nearby that I can show you.” Harry settled back into Dragon’s arms as Argent took off at a gallop, his eyes darting over the moonlit landscape. As he took in the scenery, he had a moment to wish he could see it during the day, bathed in the golden light of the sun-then he chastised himself for being so mushy.

Harry and Dragon were riding for about half an hour when they came to a small copse of trees, and Dragon dismounted before helping Harry down.

“Don’t you have to tie him to something?” Harry asked when he saw that Argent was left free.

“Of course not,” Dragon scoffed, “He may roam, but he will always come when I need him. Now, follow me.” Dragon took his hand and pulled him into the trees; they walked for several minutes, until they came to a clearing where the starry sky was reflected in a small pond. The clearing was carpeted with soft green grass and dotted with blue and purple flowers that glowed faintly in the moonlight.

“This place is amazing,” Harry said, looking around him in awe, “What kind of flowers are those?”

“I think I will leave it up to you to figure that out,” Dragon replied, “If you correctly identify the flower to me before Samhain then you will know my identity.”

“Can I take one with me?”

“I think not,” Dragon’s voice was amused, “It wouldn’t be fair for you to seek your friends help on this.” Harry pouted for a minute; Hermione would know the flower in an instant if he asked her.

“Are you hungry?” Dragon asked, “I have some food.” Harry turned around and saw that Dragon had set up a picnic on a large, flat rock near the pond; after a moments hesitation Harry nodded, and slowly sat down next to Dragon, accepting a glass of the same juice he’d had the night before.

“The food-today, at school, the food didn’t taste as good as it usually does,” Harry remembered, taking a slice of orange off the tray in front of him, “and I couldn’t drink anything except water.”

“Food can sometimes taste different after a few days in the realm,” Dragon said carelessly, “I can have Cook sneak you some food from now on, if you like.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Harry said quickly, “I mean, it’s not like I can’t eat the food at Hogwarts; the fruit still tastes okay, and so does the bread.” He picked up a small pastry and nearly moaned as the flavor of peaches burst across his tongue.

“It’s no trouble,” Dragon replied, eyes watching Harry with ill-conceived desire, “If you keep making those noises though, I may have to jump you before you finish eating.” Harry flushed as he set the pastry down and took a sip of the juice, a warm feeling coming over him as it had the previous night.

“I-I’m not really very hungry,” Harry kept his eyes trained on the glass of juice for a moment, then summoned his courage and looked up at Dragon, “Besides, this will all be here later, right?”

“Why, Harry,” Dragon’s voice was teasing as he leaned across the rock, “Do you want me to ravish you tonight?”

“No,” Harry scowled as Dragon vanished the picnic and placed a hand on his wrist, “Of course not. You’re an arrogant-mmph!” Dragon cut him off with a kiss, pulling Harry forward until the brunet was sitting in his lap. Harry pushed against Dragon's shoulders and tried to pull away from the kiss, but the prince held him still with one hand on Harry's hips and the other tangled in thick, dark locks. Harry's half-hearted struggles came to an abrupt halt when Dragon pulled Harry closer and lifted his hips, pressing their clothed erections together; Harry responding by letting out a low moan and wrapping his arms around Dragon's neck. Dragon forced his tongue into Harry's mouth, groaning when the brunet's tongue twined with his.

"I knew you wanted me to ravish you," Dragon said with a smug smirk as he broke the kiss.

"Who says I don't want to ravish you?" Harry returned breathlessly, sliding one hand down from Dragon's neck to fumble with the buttons on the prince's shirt. He was startled when his hand was caught in a steel grip, halting his movements.

"I am a prince," Dragon said coldly, "I do not bottom."

"Who said anything about that?" Harry demanded as he rolled his eyes, "There are other ways I can ravish you." With a quick twist Harry freed himself from Dragon's grip and slid off his lap so he would have more room to work. In truth, he would have liked to try topping...maybe he could convince Dragon to try it some other time. He continued working on the buttons, kissing his way down Dragon's chest as more and more pale skin was revealed. Dragon's breath hitched when Harry brushed his lips over a hardened nipple, and the brunet smirked as he took the nub into his mouth, relishing the way Dragon arched into his touch.

After a few moments Harry continued his journey south, sliding to his knees next to the rock as he kissed and licked his way down Dragon's smooth, toned torso until he came to the top of the prince's trousers. Before Harry could reach for the button, Dragon vanished the remainder of his clothing, and Harry found himself with a large, thick cock bobbing in front of his face. With a rush of panic, Harry suddenly realized that he was way out of his depth; he'd never even touched someone else's cock before, so what the hell was he doing?

"What's the matter, Harry? I thought you were going to ravish me?" Harry flushed at Dragon's mocking tone; this was his stupidest idea ever. "Are you all talk then? Or, perhaps you just want to be more comfortable." Harry shivered as he felt Dragon's magic brush against his skin, vanishing his clothing.

"Would you stop vanishing my clothes?" Harry demanded irritably, "There are other ways to remove them you know."

"And one day we'll try that," Dragon replied, reaching down to stroke himself as Harry watched. "Right now, however, I am still waiting for you to ravish me." There was a pause as Harry darted a quick glance at Dragon's face, which was still obscured due to the Fae magic, before quickly averting his gaze. "Scared, pet?"

"You wish," Harry snapped back, the familiar taunt triggering an automatic response; he wasn't scared now any more than he was that one time when- He lost his train of thought as fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him towards the stiff erection in front of him.

"Then prove it," Dragon's voice was slightly breathless as he pressed his cock against Harry's lips, "Come on, Harry; wrap those pretty pink lips around my hard cock and suck me off." Harry flushed at the prince's words, but obediently took the tip of Dragon's prick in his mouth and sucked hesitantly, earning a hiss of pleasure. "Yes, that's it, Harry. More. Show me how much you like my cock."

Harry bobbed his head to take in more of that thick length, then pulled back a little to dip his tongue in the precum leaking from the slit; he let out a throaty moan at the taste and eagerly continued his task. He knelt up and placed his hands on Dragon's thighs, then lowered his head until he had almost the entire length in his mouth. Dragon pulled him down further and Harry had to fight not to gag as his lovers cock touched the back of his throat. Thankfully, Dragon released his grip and Harry was able to pull back again; he released Dragon's cock and instead ran his tongue along the whole length, swirling it around the top before sucking in just the tip again. Dragon allowed this for a few minutes, then those long fingers tangled in his hair again and pulled Harry back down.

"So good," Dragon moaned, "Gods, you're so good at this. Let me fuck your mouth? I'll be careful." Harry hmm'd his agreement, reaching down to wrap one hand around his own throbbing erection. "No you don't," Dragon said, and Harry jerked a little as he was hit by what felt like a singing hex, "You're ravishing me, remember? Hands off unless you want them bound." Harry looked up with wide eyes and shook his head, unable to verbally answer since his mouth was still stretched around Dragon's cock. He reluctantly let go of his own erection, and placed his hands against the rock on either side of Dragon’s legs. “Good boy,” Dragon said, then his fingers tightened in Harry’s dark locks and he began to push his hips up, forcing Harry to take more of his cock on each thrust.

Dragon kept to his promise of being careful, keeping his thrusts slow as Harry sucked on the thick length in his mouth. After a few minutes he felt like he could take more and on Dragon’s next thrust he bobbed his head down, fighting his gag reflex as Dragon’s cock touched the back of his throat again.

“Oh, gods,” Dragon moaned, increasing the pace of his thrusts when he realized Harry would not complain. Harry had to fight his gag reflex every time Dragon thrust in, but the sounds the prince was making were worth it. “I’m close, so close. Fuck, Harry! Swallow it; swallow me-don’t…don’t spill.” Harry hummed his agreement, and Dragon cursed; his grip in Harry’s hair became almost painful as he thrust up and pulled Harry down. He held Harry’s head still, forcing him to swallow as he spilled his hot cum down Harry’s throat. Harry fought to swallow it all, and knew that he only succeeded because Dragon was in so deep that Harry didn’t have a choice. Finally Dragon pulled Harry’s head back, and the brunet breathed a few lungful’s of fresh air before preparing to stand.

“Don’t,” the prince’s command caused him to freeze, “Stay right there; I’m not quite done with you yet.” Harry sighed, but stayed where he was, re-settling himself on his knees. “Very good,” Dragon’s fingers carded through his hair, tugging gently as Harry closed his eyes. “Now, I want you to reach down and touch yourself, but don’t come until I give you permission.” Harry’s breath shuddered, but he nodded, and slowly slid his hand down to cup his balls; with his other hand Harry began stroking himself, keeping his eyes closed so that he didn’t have to watch the prince looking at him.

“So beautiful,” a soft touch to his cheek had Harry opening his eyes, and his gaze was immediately captured by Dragon’s tri-colored blue eyes. The colors seemed brighter than ever before, each individual ring of color almost glowing and trapping Harry so that he was unable to look away, even as he continued to stroke himself. “Spread your knees a bit, Harry.” Harry re-adjusted so that his knees were spread out more, and he felt soft grass just brushing against his balls. “Very good; whatever happens, do not stop touching yourself, understand?”

“Y-yes,” Harry breathed, moaning as he increased the speed of his hand moving over his cock. He began rocking his hips slightly, only to still as he felt something brush against his backside. “Wha-”

“I told you not to stop,” Dragon reminded him, “If you stop again, I’ll make sure you aren’t able to touch yourself, and you don’t want that, do you?”

“Depends,” Harry blushed as he realized how husky his voice sounded, “Does that mean you’ll touch me instead?”

“Impertinent!” Dragon laughed, “I suppose you’ll just have to see what happens if you stop.” Harry was going to reply, but then he felt something brush against his back again, just as something else tickled the bottom of his foot. He started to look over his shoulder, but Dragon gripped his hair tightly, saying, “You don’t need to be looking at anything other than me. Go faster, Harry; I want to watch you come undone.”

Harry shuddered at the sinful whisper, then jerked when he felt the same thing from earlier wrap around both of his ankles and up his thighs, forcing him to spread them further. Harry had to release his balls so that he could place one hand on the rock in front of him to retain his balance. He realized that it was probably vines of some sort, since Dragon had used vines on him before, and decided to ignore it as he stroked faster. A few moments later, however, his eyes widened as he felt a vine press against his hole, secreting a slippery substance that left him with no doubt as to what was about to happen next.

“No!” He protested, loosening his grip on his cock, “Dragon-!” His protest ended in a moan as the vine pushed its way inside, immediately hitting his prostate. Harry gasped and moved away from the intrusion, only for another vine to wrap around his chest, gently caressing his nipples. Harry shivered at the sensations, tensing slightly when a second vine pushed in beside the first, stretching him. Harry tightened his hand around his cock and began stroking faster as the vines inside him stretched him and prodded against his prostate.

“Dragon,” he moaned, “I’m gonna-so close!” He felt himself tensing to cum, only to cry out in negation as he felt a tight constriction around the base of his cock. “No! Please!” He looked down, wincing as it pulled his hair, and saw a vine wrapped securely around his erection.

“I don’t recall giving you permission to cum,” Dragon said, “If you want release, you will do as I say.” Harry nodded, and Dragon ran gentle fingers through his hair. “Good; crawl over to the pool-the vines will allow you to do so-and stay there, on your hands and knees, so that you can see your reflection in the water.” Harry closed his eyes and let go of his erection, then opened them and slowly crawled over to the pool; he was so hard and aching, he would do anything Dragon wanted, if only he could cum! “Spread your knees wider; I want that ass of yours high in the air.” Harry blushed as he obeyed, lowering himself so that his chest touched the ground and his ass was in the air, knees spread wide so that Dragon had an unimpeded view of his most intimate area. Harry looked down at his reflection in the pool, and saw a brunet staring back at him with wide green eyes and a flushed face; as he watched, a silver form appeared above him, and he felt hands grip his hips as the vines in his ass slowly retreated. Harry held his breath as he felt the tip of Dragon’s erection pressing against his puckered hole, then cried out as he was impaled in one swift motion.

Harry was entranced by the sight of his reflection, and moaned when Dragon pulled out, only to swiftly push back in. Harry panted as Dragon set up a fast, hard rhythm, moaning when he felt more vines wrap around his cock and begin stroking him. He was so close, his balls were aching and he needed to cum so badly…

“Please, Dragon!” Harry whimpered, pushing back into the hard thrusts, “I need to cum. Please!” The vine across his chest continued to play with his nipples, and he gasped when one sent a small, electric pulse through him, then cried out when it happened again. Dragon altered his thrusts so that he was hitting Harry’s prostate on nearly every thrust, and the brunet could do little more than moan and writhe beneath his lover.

“So tight!” Dragon moaned behind him, and Harry could feel fingers digging into his hips, “Gods! You feel so amazing wrapped around my cock! You want to cum, Luv?”

“Please,” Harry whispered, arching his back.

“Say it.” Harry knew what Dragon wanted, and this time he decided not to fight it.

“I’m yours, Dragon,” he said, “I’m yours-please let me-ah!” Harry cried out when the vine constricting his cock loosened, and his orgasm hit, drowning him in blinding whiteness. When he came back down from the high, Harry noticed that Dragon was still moving inside of him. Harry clenched his muscles, and was rewarded with a harsh cry as Dragon pushed into him one final time, jerking as he reached his own release. Harry looked down at their reflection in the pool and for a single instant Dragon’s form shimmered then became clear; Harry got a glimpse of pale skin and shining hair, as well as angular features that looked familiar, but then the moment passed and Dragon’s form was obscured by the silver glow. Dragon slid his hands up from Harry’s hips to wrap around his waist and then maneuvered them so that they were spooning, facing the pond.

“I don’t want to fall asleep,” Harry said quietly, already feeling the usual exhaustion that had come upon him the past two nights, “We…always sleep. I never…never get to learn anything about…about you or…”

“Tomorrow,” Dragon promised him, pressing a kiss to the base of Harry’s neck, “Tomorrow I promise we will talk, and get to know one another. Making love is what drains so much of your energy, so tomorrow we will spend time talking instead, okay Luv?”

“Mmm…okay,” Harry agreed sleepily, pushing further into Dragon’s embrace, “Tomorrow…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Sorry for the wait between posts, but I had a bit of trouble with this one. I'm writing the chapters as I go, so it will likely be a couple weeks, or possibly even a month, between posts. I do have the story all mapped out though, so it will not be abandoned. Hope you enjoy!


	4. The Fourth Night

October 22

The next day, Harry looked in his trunk and discovered that Dobby had found all the books on Fae that Harry had requested. He was the first in his dorm to be awake again, and was glad as that gave him a chance to look through the books and decide which one he should read first. His attention was caught by one of the books; the front cover had an image of a shining figure at the head of what could only be the Wild Hunt, while a woman stood between the shining figure and a group of Hell Hounds. As Harry watched, the illustration moved; the shining figure held out a hand, and the woman looked back at the Hell Hounds before accepting the hand and being pulled to sit in front of the shining figure on his horse. There was no title, but the image was similar enough to his own situation that he was interested. Harry flipped open to the table of contents, and found that the book included stories from five people-two Witches and three Wizards-who had been caught by the Wild Hunt and rescued by a member of the Fae. After the stories, were chapters on customs and what to expect after being chosen by a Fae.

Movement from Neville’s bed made Harry realize that he didn’t have time to read the book before classes, and he quickly drew out his history text and performed the swapping spell so that the book on Fae now had the cover for his History of Magic text book. Harry quickly tossed the book in his bag along with his books for Transfiguration and Charms, and then gathered his clothes so he could take a shower.

The day passed slowly for Harry; he didn’t have a chance to read his book until after lunch, when he had History of Magic. For the first time since he had started school, Harry was glad that this was a double period. Not wanting Hermione or Ron to know what he was up to, Harry chose to sit behind his two friends with Neville. Hermione frowned and Ron scowled, but neither one argued with him, and so he was able to read his book in peace, ignoring Professor Binn’s droning monotone.

The book was somewhat disappointing. The individual accounts read like romance novels, and the chapters about Fae customs were very vague. Harry did learn that only a member of the Royal Family used the Hunt to find a mate, and that they generally chose someone whom they already knew from the mortal world. He also read that accepting a gift from a member of the Fae meant that you accepted their courtship, something Dragon had already told him, but which would have been useful to know earlier. When the Hunt was riding, they could enter any building, regardless of wards, if they were after an Oath Breaker, and the book also said that there were no wards strong enough to keep a member of the Fae from their chosen consort. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any real information on being a consort; the book briefly mentioned that a consort was seen as the equal of his or her Fae partner, and that the consort, if human, would become Fae by the time the bonding was complete. Still, the book didn’t give any details, and it left Harry feeling frustrated by the time his last class was over.

“What’s wrong with you today, Harry?” Hermione demanded as they headed to the Great Hall for supper, “You’ve been quiet, and I even saw you reading your history book.”

“What, I can’t read if I want to?” Harry shot back, “Maybe I was reading on my own so that I’ll have a shot at passing the History of Magic exam this year.”

“Even if you did plan on doing that, you wouldn’t start this early in the year,” Hermione frowned, “Something is going on with you; why won’t you tell us? Is it Sirius? Are you still upset about him?”

“Of course I’m still upset about losing Sirius,” Harry glared at his friend, “But that’s not what’s wrong with me; nothing is wrong with me. Except, I am getting a little tired of you and Ron following me everywhere; ever since the other night you never let me have a moment alone.”

“We’re just worried about you, mate,” Ron spoke up from Hermione’s other side, “You’ve been acting funny ever since you got that note from the Hunt.”

“Well, stop worrying so much,” Harry said, “I’m fine, as you can see. Besides, even if one of the Fae was after me, how would you stop them?” Harry asked this because he wanted to know if Hermione was working on a way to keep the Fae away from him; reluctant though he’d been at first, Harry now found himself wanting to spend time with Dragon, and curious to find out the prince’s true identity. Harry took his usual seat at the Gryffindor table and started to fill his plate, only to notice that it had already been filled with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, as well as a piece of roasted chicken breast. He took a hesitant bite and had to fight back a moan at the exquisite flavor; it seemed Dragon had kept his word and sent food from the Fae realm, although he had to wonder how no one else had noticed his plate suddenly filling with food. That worry was wiped from his mind as he took a sip from his goblet, and found that it was filled to the brim with icy-cold water that had a sweet taste to it. He forced himself to focus on his friends reply, even though all he wanted to do was enjoy his meal without any interruptions.

“There are ways,” Hermione replied pulling a piece of parchment out of her bag, “I’ve already discovered a few ways to keep the Fae out of the school, and I think I might have an idea on how to keep them from sending their power into the school as well; I just need to do a little more research.”

“Research on what?” Ginny asked, sitting down across from Harry.

“Oh, I just want more information about the Hunt,” Hermione replied lightly, “I find it fascinating.”

“It is weird that they’re riding right now,” Ginny agreed, “Mum always said they only ride on the nights of the Solstice’s and Equinoxes.”

“Except when one of the Royal family is looking for a consort,” Seamus spoke up from a few seats down, “The Hunt can ride for two weeks at a time, once every two months, until a consort is chosen.”

“How is the consort chosen?” Hermione asked, a self-inking quill appearing in her hand.

“Well, Mum always said that the Royal Fae would be drawn to someone who’s spirit was a match for their own,” Seamus replied, “The consort would be…they would complete the Fae.”

“Can they enter warded buildings to find a consort?” Hermione wanted to know, barely looking at Seamus as she quickly copied the information he was giving her.

“No,” Seamus shook his head, “The consort is usually found outside. Once the bond has been initiated the Fae can enter a warded building if someone is trying to keep the consort from meeting up with them, but otherwise the Fae can’t enter any magical dwelling unless they are after an Oath Breaker; if they are after an Oath Breaker, no wards can keep them out.” Hermione was quiet for a moment as she thought over the new information.

"I thought that the Fae would just kidnap their chosen consort and keep them captive until the consort gives in," Ginny said, "That's what happened in all the old folk stories Mum told us."

"Usually only the lesser Fae do that," Seamus told her, "Members of the High Court, and especially the ruling family, rarely hold someone captive because they believe that no one has the ability to resist them. They'll try to trick their chosen consort agreeing to be with them, but the consort always has the choice to leave- they just need to have the will power to do it."

"So, even if someone is chosen by Fae they can still refuse and the Fae will let them go?" This time it was Colin who asked the question, and Harry was secretly pleased that others were asking the questions so he didn't have to; if he seemed too interested Hermione would get suspicious.

"Of course," Seamus was basking in the attention of his House mates, "Why would they want to keep someone who didn't want to be with them? There are certain things that can make it harder to resist the Fae though, and some people are more sensitive to their magic."

"How do you know all of this?" Hermione demanded, "What book did you read it in?"

"Learned it from me Mum and Gran," Seamus replied, "Had a great-something aunt who became consort to one of the Fae, and she left behind a journal with some of their secrets." The Irish boy frowned, "Actually, I can't really say more about it or else I might bring down a curse on my family.” He was quiet for a moment, then shrugged, “Hey Dean; want to help me with Charms?"

"If you set my robes on fire again, I'm dunking you in the lake," Dean warned as the two stood up from the table; Harry was shocked to see Seamus grab Dean’s hand and lead him out of the Great Hall-wasn’t Dean with Ginny?

"Harry," Ginny's voice distracted him from his thoughts, and he turned his attention to the red-haired girl next to him, "Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend; do you want to go with me?" He was startled when she scooted closer to him, smiling at him suggestively.

"Er, maybe next time," Harry said awkwardly, as he stood up, "I... er, already have plans. Um, I'm kinda tired Ginny; I'm gonna head up to bed." Harry bolted before any of his friends could protest, only to be stopped by Malfoy out in the corridor.

“Potter!” Harry halted and spun around to see Malfoy approaching him, and was surprised to find that the Slytherin’s bodyguards weren’t with him.

“Malfoy,” Harry replied cautiously, “What do you want?” He winced as he remembered his plan to be nicer to the blond, “Er, I meant I’m heading up to bed, so, um, did you need something?”

“Eloquent as always,” Draco sneered, but it seemed to lack some of the enmity Draco’s words normally held, “I wanted to make a deal with you; I know that you have been having trouble in Potions, and I want to offer my assistance in exchange for you going over the Charms assignment with me.”

“Um, er, o…kay,” Harry stammered, “I guess…that would be alright. Er, when do you want to get together? I mean, to study.” Draco was smirking when Harry finished.

“Don’t worry, Potter,” he drawled, “I know better than to think that you’re after my virtue; the Weaslette has nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not with Ginny,” Harry frowned, even as he fought down a blush; at that moment the doors from the Great Hall opened, and Harry could hear his friends talking. “Um, just send me an owl and we’ll figure out a time to meet up. Night, Malfoy.” Harry quickly walked away, slipping into an unused classroom that he knew contained a shortcut to the staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower; it was at times like this that Harry felt really grateful for the Marauder’s Map.

Harry managed to make it to the boys’ dorm before his friends, and sealed his curtains with a silencing charm just as the dorm room door opened again. He listened as his friends got ready for bed, and only then did he notice that there was no present waiting on his pillow tonight; no portkey to take him to Dragon. Harry frowned; did Dragon not want to see him tonight? Had he done something wrong last night? It seemed silly for Harry to be offended about not being brought to see Dragon when he had wanted nothing to do with the Fae prince at first, but he had come to enjoy his time with the blue-eyed prince, and he was looking forward to getting to know the other boy better. Maybe, Harry thought, Dragon didn’t really want to get to know him. Maybe the prince was tired of him and…

Harry was drawn out of his thoughts by the sudden appearance of a box on his pillow. Fears forgotten, the brunet eagerly picked up the small box and tore the lid off, only to find an old fashioned key in the box, along with a short note.

"This is your key to the realm. The key will work only for you and, until our bonding is complete, it can only be activated after sundown. If I am not in my chambers when you arrive, feel free to make yourself comfortable. To activate the key you must simply say "Dragon". I eagerly await your arrival."

Harry carefully set the unsigned note to the side and picked up the key so that he could examine it. It was old fashioned, as he had noted earlier, but it sparkled like new. The key was silver and encrusted with rubies. It dangled on a thin gold chain, and there was a single emerald dangling next to the key. Odd, it was a mixture of Slytherin and Gryffindor colors...was Dragon a Slytherin? If so, which one? Harry gasped as he flashed back to the conversation he had just had with Malfoy-Malfoy, who had blond hair and blue eyes, just like the prince-was Malfoy Dragon? Was that why the blond had wanted to work with him? Harry frowned; why would Malfoy have saved him though? It was well-known that Lucius was a Death Eater, and his son was set to follow in his footsteps; if that was the case Malfoy should have let him be attacked by the Darkling’s. On the other hand, Dragon did talk like Malfoy, and he had the same sort of attitude…but still; if it was Malfoy, wouldn’t the Slytherin have turned him in to Voldemort? It would be a quick way to get his family back in Voldemort’s good graces. Unless, of course, Malfoy was Dragon, and he decided not to follow Voldemort…Harry shook his head in confusion. There was a good chance that Malfoy really was Dragon, but he couldn’t be sure yet; he needed to gather more information first.

Mind made up, Harry turned his attention back to the key. He clasped the chain around his neck and then wrapped his hand around the key and whispered; “Dragon.” A few seconds later, he found himself in the prince’s rooms once again; this time Dragon was waiting for him by the window.

“I expected you earlier,” Dragon said as he crossed the room to stand in front of Harry, “Did you like your gift?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded, “It’s very…unique. I like the mixture of metals and gemstones.”

“I am glad,” Dragon leaned down to give Harry a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling back again; he took the brunet by the arm and led him to a pair of chairs by the window he had been standing at earlier. “I thought that, since you wanted us to get to know each other better, tonight we could stay in my rooms and talk. Food will be brought up later.”

“That reminds me,” Harry said, “Thank you for the food; I was surprised no one noticed that I had different food than them.”

“Glamour,” Dragon shrugged elegantly, “Very few can see through a Fae glamour. Hollyberry Cordial?” Dragon held out his hand and a crystal goblet appeared, filled with the red juice that Harry had so recently become familiar with; it always made him feel somewhat light-headed though, so maybe he should forgo it this one time.

“Um, can I just have some water for now?” he requested, “The juice is a little strong; if it wasn’t so sweet, I’d think it was alcohol. Thank you.” He accepted the goblet of water Dragon passed to him and took a sip, pleased to find it was the same sweet-tasting water from earlier.

“Harry, Hollyberry Cordial is a type of liquor,” Dragon replied with amusement, “It can only be found in the realm, although it is less intoxicating than many of the other drinks we have. I thought you knew.”

“How was I supposed to know it was liquor?” Harry demanded, “It’s not like I every really drink, and I’ve never hear of an alcoholic drink that was sweet like that!”

“That is because it is only available in the realm, or to those who have been in the realm,” Draco replied, “Why do you think I sent you Sweet Water at school?”

“I didn’t really think about it,” Harry admitted, “I was busy trying to find out what Hermione knows about the Fae.”

“Oh?” the response was nonchalant, but Harry could see Dragon tense up, “And what did your friend have to say about us?”

“She said she’s working on a way to ban Fae from entering Hogwarts,” Harry told him, “and also from summoning anyone out of the school. I didn’t hear anymore though, because our Housemates showed up and then Seamus started talking about the Fae; he had a relative who was consort to one of the Fae, he said.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Not much,” Harry said, “He told us he wasn’t allowed to say much, otherwise the Fae might curse his family.”

“Hmm,” Dragon took a sip of his drink-he was drinking the Hollyberry Cordial-and they sat in silence for a few minutes before the prince spoke again. “You wanted to get to know me better; ask me a question and, after I answer, I will ask you one of my own. Either of us can refuse to answer a question for any reason if it is something we are not comfortable talking about.”

“Sounds fair,” Harry agreed, before asking the question he had been wanting to know the answer to since all this had started, “Why did you save me and make me your consort?”

“That was two questions in one,” Dragon chided, “However I will still answer. I saved you because I couldn’t stand to see someone so beautiful be ravaged by the Darkling’s and the Hellhounds. I am not just talking about your physical appearance either; your soul is…it shines brightly, even though it is smudged with darkness. Anyone who can read auras would be able to tell that you have been through many hardships, and yet you have retained your innocence and your ability to love; that is extremely rare. I made you my consort because it was the only way to save you, but I would have chosen you even if your life had not been in danger. You, Harry, have an infallible belief in doing what’s right, even when that’s not the easiest choice. You are quick to anger, but also quick to forgive, and you judge people for themselves, and not what others say about them.” Dragon paused for a moment, then; “My turn. What is your favorite childhood memory?”

“Hmm, before or after I started at Hogwarts?”

“After.” Harry frowned as he thought back to his life before Hogwarts, his life with the Dursley’s; he didn’t really have any happy memories with his family…except…

“The summer before first year I went to the zoo with my family,” Harry began, “It was my Cousin Dudley’s eleventh birthday, and usually Mrs. Figg would watch me for the day, but she had to cancel at the last minute, so I got to go with them. The whole day was pretty good-I got a lemon ice lolly and even a Knicker Boxer Glory because Dudley said the first one they bought him didn’t have enough icecream on it. The best part though, was towards the end of the day. We were in the reptile house, and I was talking to a boa constrictor. My cousin pushed me out of the way, and I accidentally vanished the glass, freeing the snake. The Boa Constrictor scared my relatives as he made his escape. I was punished for it later, even though at the time I didn’t know how it happened, but it always makes me smile whenever I see a boa constrictor.” Harry looked over at Dragon and, even though he couldn’t see his face clearly, he could tell the Fae was unhappy with something he had said. Having a suspicion that Dragon was upset at the mention of the Dursley’s, Harry quickly asked his next question. “What about you? Not to copy you or anything, but what is your favorite memory from before school?” Dragon was silent for a moment, and from the look in those tri-colored eyes Harry knew he had, at best, bought himself a minute or two before Dragon began asking some uncomfortable questions.

“When I was five my parents took me to France for the summer,” Dragon said, “They own a Chateau with amazing gardens that is situated within walking distance of the beach. Normally both of my parents were busy, so I only got to spend a little time with them and my tutor watched over me. That summer, however, both of my parents cleared their schedules and we spent an entire month in France, just the three of us. Mother taught me about flowers, in the mornings, Father and I spent the afternoons swimming, and we spent the evenings together as a family; Mother would play for us, Father would read, or we would play games on the parlor floor. On my birthday, Mother had the house elves make strawberry crepes for breakfast, and they baked me a Chocolate-Cherry Fizz cake. I remember I had a mountain of presents, but I can’t remember a single one of them, because nothing compared to having my parents un-divided attention. We still make a trip to France every summer, but only for a week because of Mother and Father’s responsibilities. That summer, spending one whole month with my parents, is my favorite memory.”

“That sounds amazing,” Harry told him, “I would give just about anything to have a memory like that.”

“Thank you for reminding me,” Dragon pierced him with narrowed sliver-blue eyes, “Your relatives.” Harry waited, but Dragon didn’t say anything else.

“What about my relatives?” Harry finally asked warily.

“Do not rush me,” Dragon chided him, “I am merely considering the best way to word my question so that I do not have to spend ten questions on prying the information from you. I will spend ten questions on it if I must, but I think it would be better for both of us if I did not need to.” Harry rolled his eyes and reached for a strawberry from the tray that had just appeared beside him. “Harry, what was your life like with your relatives?”

“Awful,” Harry replied, “My turn then?”

“You know that is not what I meant with the question,” Dragon glared, “If you wish to do this the hard way then, by all means, ask me my question; however, you should know that I will continue asking questions about your family until you tell me what I want to know.”

“And I’ll just refuse to answer, since I have that choice,” Harry smiled sweetly at the prince.

“You do have that choice,” Dragon agreed, “but I thought this was about getting to know one another? How can we do that if you refuse to tell me about your childhood?” Harry sighed in frustration and pushed his hand into his hair, tugging on it.

“I don’t-it’s not important,” He insisted, “The Dursley’s were-they don’t like magic, and I’m a wizard. I’m used to it and, if I’m going to be living with you then I won’t have to deal with them ever again, so I don’t see the point in talking about it. But, if you really want to know about me growing up with the Dursley’s, I’ll tell you anything you want-after I see you without your glamor.” Dragon was silent for a moment, apparently thinking it over, then he gave a small nod.

“Very well,” he agreed, “I can accept that for now. What is your next question for me?”

“Umm, what are your hobbies?” Harry asked; maybe the answer to this question would help him to figure out whether or not Dragon and Malfoy were the same person.

“I enjoy flying,” Dragon replied, “and reading. I also play the piano. I have to say, however, that my new favorite hobby is having you as often as possible.” Harry felt his face flush as he glared at the prince, who let out a satisfied chuckle, “Seeing how red you can get is another new hobby of mine.”

“Prat,” Harry muttered, making the prince laugh again. He thought back to Dragon’s answers; the flying was something he’d expect Malfoy to say, but the prince hadn’t mentioned potions, and surely Malfoy would list that as one of his hobbies? Harry still needed more information; he pushed those thoughts away and focused on the Fae in front of him.

“Do you really want to be an Auror after Hogwarts?” Dragon asked him.

“I thought I did,” Harry admitted, “but now…I’m not so sure. I mean, I’ve spent the past five years trying to survive Voldemort, and I still have to face him again so that he can be defeated for good; I’m already basically an unpaid Auror, so I think I’d like to try something else, I’m just not sure what yet. Um, who is your best friend?”

“I am not answering that one,” Dragon said, “If I tell you who my best friend is, I might as well tell you my name while I’m at it.” Harry pouted, then thought of a way to re-phrase the question.

“Okay, what is your best friend like?”

“Well, he’s smart,” Dragon said thoughtfully, “at least, when he actually puts effort into school he’s smart. He’s also funny, and we’ve known each other since before Hogwarts. We used to practice flying together, and he has an affinity for dealing with animals. He is also a major flirt, and knows how to acquire just about anything, whether or not it is legal. Now, I believe you have enough to think about for the time being; you’ll find an outfit in the bedroom-go change and then we will join the masquerade.”

“Can’t we stay here?” Harry frowned, “I don’t really like dances, and I was enjoying talking to you.”

“Mother and Father are insisting we join the celebration tonight,” Dragon replied, “We can spend more time talking tomorrow night. Besides, you enjoyed dancing with me last time.”

“Yes, well I was probably drunk on that cordial you gave me,” Harry retorted as he stood up and followed Dragon into the bedroom.

“If you’ll remember correctly, I did not give you any cordial until after we returned to my rooms,” Draco responded as he directed Harry to the screen he had changed behind last time, “Can you fix your hair and makeup, or will you need assistance?”

“I’ll need help with my hair,” Harry replied, “But I don’t want to wear any makeup.” He changed into the same type of old-fashioned outfit he had worn to the last masquerade, only this time the trousers were grey, and the shirt was a deep green, so dark that it was almost black. The boots were black again, and Harry sighed as he put them on before emerging from behind the screen.

“You look amazing,” Dragon told Harry, taking him by the hand and leading him to a cushioned bench. Harry took sat down as directed, and was surprised when Dragon began brushing his hair instead of calling for a servant to do it. “I won’t be putting much makeup on you,” the prince continued as he gathered Harry’s dark locks into a long braid which he then secured with a clip shaped like a dragon, “just liner to bring out your eyes, and a little bit of carmine for your lips. Now, just hold still another moment.” Harry rolled his eyes as Dragon knelt in front of him, and received a sharp pinch on his arm in response; “Don’t do that or I may mess this up.”

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes again as Dragon removed his glasses, and then fought not to blink as the liner was applied, followed by the carmine for his lips. Dragon stood, put pressed his hands on Harry’s shoulders when the brunet made to follow. The prince held out his hand, and a mask-the same one Harry had worn last time- appeared in it. Harry closed his eyes as Dragon put the mask on him, and he felt the ribbons tie snuggly around his head. Looking up at the prince, Harry saw that he was wearing a silver half-mask with dark blue thread embroidered around the edges of the mask and the eyeholes. Dragon extended his hand and helped Harry to his feet, then led him out of the room; with a sigh, Harry resigned himself to a long night of dancing, but he couldn’t deny the feeling of happiness he got when Dragon wrapped an arm around his waist as they entered the ballroom. Maybe the masquerade wouldn’t be too bad…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but the new chapter is finally here! I'll be picking up the pace of the story soon; there will be one or two more chapters that are only describing one day, and then I'll start grouping a few days together. We'll see if I can get this story completed in time for Draco to announce Harry as his Consort-on All Hallows Eve. That is my goal, so...again, we'll see how that goes and if my muses cooperate. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. The Fifth Night

October 23

Harry awoke the next morning in his bed as usual, and he couldn’t stop smiling as he thought about his most recent night with Dragon. He had been uncertain about the masquerade, but it had actually been a lot of fun. Dragon had spun him around the dance floor for what felt like several hours, and then they had sat down at a small table with the king and queen to dine on the dais, while the rest of the Fae sat at larger, but still intimate, circular tables, spaced throughout the ballroom. Harry had accepted a goblet of Hollyberry cordial, and the goblet never emptied; a servant always appeared to refill it before he could see the bottom of the crystal.

The king had drawn Dragon aside to talk to him for a short time, and the queen took that opportunity to speak to Harry. He was pleased to find that she was warm towards him, and they talked about inconsequential things as she had told Harry; “My Dragon would never forgive me if I accidentally let slip some information that would tell you his identity. He wants to know that you figured it out on your own; it is a point of pride for him.”

The queen had told him that masks were held fairly often, but one was held every night the week before and after a solstice or equinox, and also every night that the hunt rode to search for the heirs consort. Harry discovered that the queen and king were both born Fae, although they were born to different courts, which is how he discovered that there was more than one Fae Court. Or, rather, there were sub-courts. The queen didn’t have enough time to give him more information about the different courts, but she did refer him to a book by Violetta Noir le Fey.

When Dragon returned from speaking to his father, he once again led Harry out onto the dance floor, and kept him there until Harry begged for a break. Dragon then led him out into a private garden where they talked some more, and then Dragon had kissed him breathless before they took their leave of the king and queen and returned to the princes private rooms. Dragon had pulled him in for another breathtaking kiss-and then Harry woke in his own bed, wearing his pajamas with his glasses and his wand on the pillow next to him.

On this morning, Harry was not the first one awake, and he didn’t have a chance to go through his books to see if the queen’s recommendation was one of them. Instead, he gathered his books for class and rushed downstairs, where he was just in time for breakfast; this morning he had bread and fresh fruit on his plate, courtesy of Dragon, and another goblet of Sweet Water. He looked around the table as he ate, and saw that Hermione had a pile of books on the table in front of her, her plate pushed to the side and forgotten about. Tilting his head to the side, Harry read the titles of the books…’Fae Flora by Thistle le Fey’, ‘Fae Fauna by Dove Gold,’ an untitled book that looked like the one he had read the day before, and ‘Courts of Fae by Violetta Noir le Fey’. Hmm, hadn’t Dragon said Hermione wouldn’t be able to find any books about the Fae? Well, he wouldn’t be the first person-or the last-to underestimate Hermione’s uncanny ability to find information. It was like her superpower. Harry entertained himself with imagining Hermione flying around with a cape, punishing un-fit teachers by whacking them upside the head with their own course books, and grinned when he pictured her attacking Snape. He was brought out of his amusing daydream by a frustrated growl as Hermione slammed her book closed.

“Useless!” She cried, “This is the third book on Fae that I’ve gone through, and so far they are all useless! All they talk about are how romantic it is to be chosen by a member of the Fae, but they give no facts!”

“Calm down, ‘Mione,” Ron said in alarm, actually setting his fork down to focus on the girl next to him, “You’ll find the information; you always do. What about the books on the table?”

“I haven’t read them yet,” Hermione replied, glaring at the aforementioned books, “I doubt they will be any more useful than the ones I have already gone through though. There should be an entire shelf of books on the Fae in the library, but they are all gone, and Madam Pince won’t tell me who checked them out.” Hermione scowled, even more upset about the current lack of information than she had been back in second year, when all the copies of Hogwarts, A History had been checked out before she could get one.

“It was probably some Ravenclaws,” Harry told her, “Dumbledore should have let you and the other Prefects go to the library before he told the rest of the school about The Hunt, but you can always check the bookshop in Hogsmeade this weekend.” He paused, trying to decide if he could ask more questions-or offer to help-without Hermione getting suspicious. He decided to risk it. “Do you really think it’s that important to read about the Fae? I mean, I haven’t heard anything more about The Hunt; are they even still out there?”

“Yes, they are,” Hermione frowned, “As Prefects, the headmaster keeps us informed. They have been riding in the Forbidden Forest, however so far they haven’t come across any students. Professor Dumbledore asked me to find more information because…his other friends” Harry knew this was code for the Order of the Phoenix “are busy with other things right now. It is taking me too long to go through everything though; I have to read all the books in case something important is in there.”

“Well, I guess I can take one of the books,” Harry offered, “Has to be more interesting than History of Magic and Divination, at least, right Ron?”

“Huh?” Ron looked up from stuffing his face, having returned to his breakfast once he discovered Hermione’s bad mood had to do with books. Harry looked at him, then the pile of books and Hermione, and Ron nodded, quickly swallowing his latest bite of food, “Oh! Oh, yeah! We can help ‘Mione! Just tell us what to look for, and we can write down anything we find!”

“Thank you!” Hermione beamed at her two best friends, “Anything about Fae customs, strengths, weaknesses-basically, anything that is not about romance could be important. I’ll take this one;” she picked up the untitled book, “Ron-”

“I’ll take the one about the animals,” Ron quickly offered, taking the thinnest book from the stack, “Hagrid will probably let me look at it during class too, so that’s more time to read!”

“I don’t really think I’d be interested in the flower book,” Harry said, recalling that he already had that book in his trunk, “so I’ll read the one about the courts.” He picked up the book, and Hermione picked up the last one, putting her two books in her bag along with the rest of her school supplies.

“Wonderful!” She smiled, “Come on; we’d better get down to Herbology.” Harry and Ron quickly gathered their own belongings, and the trio made their way outside for the first class of the day.

////////////////////////

After Herbology, the trio headed down to the field outside of Hagrid’s hut for Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. Harry frowned thoughtfully as he realized that he shared nearly all of his classes with Malfoy and the other Slytherins. Since not all of the Sixth Years qualified for the Newts Level classes of Transfiguration and Potions, all four classes shared those, and Slytherin and Gryffindor also shared charms, while Gryffindor shared Astronomy with Ravenclaw and, as always, Herbology was shared with Hufflepuff. Harry still wasn’t sure how he and Ron made it into Advanced Divination, but at least it was an easy class.

For the day’s lesson, Hagrid introduced them to salamanders; Harry was surprised because they didn’t seem dangerous enough for Hagrid to be enthusiastic over, but the class was very enjoyable. Harry remembered when the twins studied salamanders, and wondered if he could sneak one back to the common room; the salamanders hissed in a way that was similar to Parsletongue, and Harry felt that he could understand them if he just had enough time to work with them. Unfortunately, Hermione seemed to know what he was thinking, because she was watching him with narrowed eyes.

Towards the end of class, Harry realized that Hermione wasn’t watching him, she was studying the silver bracelets Dragon had given him. Harry frowned and turned his back to Hermione, leaning over to catch his salamander, which had made a run for the pile of kindling nearby.

“If you had waited another moment I would have given you some more,” Harry murmured, grabbing a fistful of dead leaves and twigs; he quickly had it aflame, and the salamander happily basked in the fire. Harry smiled, then glanced up and saw that Malfoy had his salamander in a small bed of coals. Harry bit his lip, recalling that they had learned the spell to turn dead wood into charcoal during Transfiguration the previous week; now, what was the incantation? Harry heard a soft murmur from the table across from him, and watched as the bits of dead twigs turned into a bed of coals. His salamander ran back and forth across the red-hot coals, clearly very happy with the circumstances. Harry looked up and green eyes met grey; he offered the blond a small smile and received a smirk in return. Harry quickly looked away, returning his attention to the salamander in front of him and hoping that Hermione hadn’t noticed the exchange between himself and Malfoy.

After CoMC, Harry and Ron had a free period, while Hermione had Arithmancy. Ron decided to take a nap, and Harry used the free time to read the book on Fae Courts.

Violetta Noir Le Fey wrote that all Fae belonged to the High Court, which has been ruled by Queen Tatiana since time immemorial. Several centuries ago, after many years of wars, Tatiana decided to divide her subjects into sub courts, which came to be known as the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and then further divided those courts into four additional courts representing the seasons. The Spring and Summer Courts were part of the Seelie Court, while the Autumn and Winter Courts were part of the Unseelie Court. The designation for the seasons were dependent upon the individual Fae’s talents; for example, if a Fae was talented with growing things then he-or she-would be part of the Spring Court. There were, of course, exceptions, such as when Fae married outside of their own court, or children who had not yet left their parents’ home.

The Fae of the Seelie Court were known to be aloof from humans; they occasionally made mischief, but rarely interacted directly with anyone not of Fae descent. The Fae of the Unseelie Court were darker, more likely to cause harms with their pranks, and also enjoyed interacting with humans, even though they saw anyone not of Fae descent as lesser beings. Both Courts had been known to abduct humans who interested them, and if a human did them a favor then the favor was always returned, while any harm or disrespect was also returned with the same.

The politics of the Courts were involved, but also fairly simple. While each Court had its own King and/or Queen to rule over them, the rulers of the Spring and Summer Courts had to answer to the ruler of the Seelie Court, while the rulers of the Autumn and Winter Courts answered to the ruler of the Unseelie Court. In addition, the High Queen had ultimate authority over all of the courts, but she normally only got involved in disputes between the rulers of her sub-courts.

In addition to the seven main Courts, there were also separate courts for the Demi-Fae (the size of pixies, they could have wings or not), Goblins (even the goblins of Gringott’s fell under Fae ruler ship) and Brownies (House Elves were related to Brownies in both the Seelie and Unseelie Court.

Harry managed to read the whole book before his free period was over, and wrote down a few things for Hermione; he was careful, however, to leave out any information that might be important. Harry knew he should want Hermione to figure out what was going on, but he had begun to enjoy his time with Dragon and didn’t want anyone-not even one of his best friends-to interfere with it.

Once the break was over, it was off to Transfiguration, which was a double period. Harry sat next to Neville again, letting Ron and Hermione sit next to one another. They were beginning to learn about the Animagus transformation, and Harry found that he was very excited to learn about it; if he could master his Animagus form, it would give him one more thing in common with his dad and Sirius. Unfortunately, the first step to becoming an Animagus was learning how to meditate-how to clear his mind; Harry just hoped that he would find it easier to learn from McGonagall than it had been last year with Snape.

Two hours later, Harry followed Ron and Hermione out of the classroom, trailing behind them as they headed to the Great Hall for supper; even without Snape constantly ambushing his mind, Harry still had a headache from the stress of trying to clear his mind. How was he supposed to stop thinking? It still didn’t make any sense!

“Well, Harry, instead of complaining about it, why don’t you go to the library?” Hermione demanded as they finished up their desert, “Honestly! You should have read some books on meditating last year, when you were having trouble in your extra lessons with Professor Snape. I don’t know why you always make such a big deal of things.”

“I’m sorry I’m not perfect and I can’t master everything on the first try,” Harry retorted, glaring at Hermione, “Not everyone can be perfect all the time. You’re always after me to tell you how I’m feeling, but the second I do open up you tell me to get over it!”

“Stop yelling at ‘Mione,” Ron scowled at Harry, “She’s only trying to help! You’re always snapping at us for one thing or another, and acting like you’re the only one in the world who has problems!”

“Fine!” Harry snarled, pushing his untouched desert away and getting to his feet, “I won’t bother you with my problems anymore!” He grabbed his book bag and stormed out of the Great Hall, ignoring Hermione when she tried to call him back.

Sometimes, Harry’s friends really irritated him. All summer Hermione had chastised him for keeping his feelings to himself, saying that he shouldn’t hold it all in. Both Hermione and Ron had assured Harry that he could tell them anything, but that obviously wasn’t true; the second he started to complain about the headache meditation gave him-literally; his head still hurt from the lesson-they got mad at him. Well, he’d just keep his feelings to himself from now on, just like he had planned to in the first place. Harry turned down a corridor that led to the kitchens, not wanting to go back to Gryffindor yet, but not really having anywhere else to go either.

“Well, that was amusing,” Harry spun around, wand drawn, to find Malfoy leaning casually against the wall, his form half in shadow as he smirked at Harry.

“Malfoy,” Harry sighed, shaking his head as he lowered his wand, “Are you stalking me?”

“I have better things to do than follow you around,” Malfoy drawled, “However, since you are already here, we can begin studying; our Potions essay is due tomorrow, after all. Go grab your text and then meet me in the library.” Malfoy started to turn away, and Harry scowled at his confidence in being obeyed.

“No,” Harry said, smirking when Malfoy halted mid-step; the blond slowly turned around, and Harry quickly hid his smirk before Malfoy could see it. The Slytherin had his brows arched, a look of disbelief on his face as he stared at Harry.

“Excuse me, Potter?” Malfoy’s voice was dangerously soft, “Did you just tell me no?”

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” Harry shot back, “It’s not like this is the first time I’ve ever told you no. In this case, though, what I actually meant is I don’t want to study in the library; let’s just go up to the Room of Requirement-this way no one will bother us while we study, and I don’t have to go get my book.”

“You actually have a good idea for once,” Malfoy snarked, beginning to walk in the direction of the Room of Requirement, “I shall have to note it on my calendar, as this is surely a historical moment.”

“Ha, ha,” Harry fell into step beside his-what? Nemesis? Not really, not anymore. But Malfoy wasn’t his friend either, although, Harry mused, he could be his lover; that is, if Malfoy actually was Dragon. Maybe it would be safest to just call him his study partner for the time being. Harry came out of his musings as they reached the seventh floor corridor and Draco turned to look at him expectantly.

“This was your idea, Potter,” the blond said, “So get to it; just don’t make the room too red-large quantities of red always makes me feel violent.”

“Oh, is that why you always pick fights with me?” Harry asked as he pushed by the other boy, “Because red makes you angry?”

“Now you begin to understand,” Malfoy’s drawling voice was condescending, “So it would be best to avoid it in your decorations.” Harry rolled his eyes and began pacing in front of the blank wall.

‘I need a place for me and Malfoy to study comfortably.’ One. ‘I need a place where me and Malfoy can study without anyone bothering us.’ Two. ‘I need a comfortable place for me and Malfoy to study where no one can bother us.’ Three. A few seconds later a wooden door appeared in the middle of the wall; Harry pulled the door open and stepped inside with Malfoy just behind him.

The room was intimate, with a small sitting area consisting of a sofa and two chairs, all upholstered in soft grey fabric, with a low coffee table in the middle. On the wall facing the door was a fireplace with a cheerful fire casting a warm glow over the room; the wall behind the couch had two desks pushed together, facing one another, and the wall behind the chairs was lined with shelves overflowing with books. The walls were painted a dark blue, and the wooden furniture was all made of dark oak.

“Not bad,” Malfoy commented as he brushed past Harry, “Shall we get started then?” He walked over to the sitting area and picked up a copy of their Potions text that the room had provided. “How far have you gotten on your essay?”

“I have a bit written,” Harry told him, reaching into his bag and pulling out the new assignment folder Hermione had gifted him for his birthday; a step above the planner from last year, this folder held all of his assignments as well as the notes to go with them, it offered suggestions for additional resources, came with a spell check quill, and a scheduler to suggest which assignment he should work on first. Harry flipped to his Potions tab and pulled out his essay, then glared at Malfoy when the prat snatched it from him and immediately began to mark through it with red ink.

“Absolutely appalling, Potter,” Malfoy shook his head, not raising his eyes from the parchment, “How you ever managed to get into Professor Snape’s advanced class I’ll never know. You have far too many errors, and the essay is not long enough. Go check the shelves and see if the room provided a copy of out Herbology text; it will help. Also, find copy of ‘Diamond in the Rough; A Potion Maker’s Guide to Minerals’.” Harry found himself doing as Malfoy said, not even considering protesting as he perused the books provided; well, Malfoy was helping him, so it would be really churlish of Harry to throw a fit about being told to get books that would enable him to write a better essay. Not that it would make any difference; Snape would never give Harry better than an ‘Acceptable’, no matter how well his essay was written.

Two hours later, Harry accepted the third draft of his essay back from Malfoy, finally with no corrections.

“This will be more difficult than I had thought,” Malfoy shook his head, “Take the book on minerals with you and read it in your spare time; if you cross reference it with your Potions book it will prepare you for class. We will no doubt be brewing tomorrow, so if you wit with me I shall assist you in creating a passable potion.”

“Thanks, I think,” Harry said as he put his newly completed essay in the folder, “We didn’t get to work on your Charms assignment though, and it’s nearly curfew.” Harry realized he was later than usual for his meeting with Dragon, and was slightly surprised to find that he hadn’t thought about the prince the entire time he was with Malfoy.

“I’m not worried about the essay,” Malfoy replied, “I have no problems assimilating information from a collection of books. What I need assistance with is the application of the charms; I have been trying to practice the Patronus Charm, as I know that Flitwick will be beginning on those within the next few weeks.”

“Well, we can work on it after supper tomorrow, if you want,” Harry offered, picking up his bag, “Meet here?”

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Malfoy wanted to know, “It can’t be because you’re worried about being out after curfew; that’s never bothered you before.”

“Maybe I’m trying to avoid getting into trouble this year,” Harry shot back, “I’ve already got all my friends and Dumbledore watching my every move; the last thing I need is to get a detention for being out after curfew.”

“Ah, but this time you are with a Prefect,” Malfoy smirked, “All I have to do is say that I authorized a later curfew tonight so that I could assist you with your studies, and there will be no problem. Then again, as I mentioned before, I don’t think being out after curfew is what worries you. Are you nervous to be around me, Potter?” Malfoy took a step forward and Harry quickly turned away to get some more space between them.

“Of course not,” He scoffed, “but I do have things to do, and my friends will be worried about me.” He began walking towards the door, conscious of Malfoy following him.

“Well, if being around me doesn’t make you nervous, then you won’t object to a longer study session tomorrow night,” Malfoy said, reaching around Harry to open the door and then gesturing for Harry to go through it first, “Meet me here after your final class of the day; I shall provide for supper. See you tomorrow, Potter.” Malfoy didn’t give Harry a chance to reply, but strode down the hallway and then disappeared around a corner. Harry followed after him, but when he reached the corner the blond was nowhere in sight.

“Obnoxious git,” Harry muttered as he headed back up to Gryffindor Tower, “As if he has a right to tell me what to do.” Harry continued to mutter as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, and was surprised to find that Hermione and Ron were not waiting for him.

Upon entering the Sixth Years boys dorm Harry found that all of his dorm mates had their bed hangings closed, and so he was able to easily climb into his own bed and close the curtains without having to talk to anyone. Harry sealed his curtains and then reached in his shirt to draw out the key Dragon had given him. With a whispered “Dragon”, Harry soon found himself in the prince’s sitting room again, but said prince was nowhere to be found. Instead, a servant was waiting for him.

“Greetings Harry Potter, Chosen Consort,” the servant bowed, “The prince has instructed me to make sure you are comfortable until his return. What do you desire?”

“Where is Dragon?” Harry frowned, feeling somewhat abandoned.

“The prince had an urgent meeting,” came the reply, “He has said he will not be too late. Is there anything I can get for you, Consort?”

“Um, just some Sweet Water,” Harry replied, “Is-do you know if there is going to be another dance tonight?”

“There will be a dance every night from now until Samhain,” the servant informed him, “Whether or not you will be attending is up to the prince. Your water, Consort.” A tray appeared in the servants hand with a goblet filled to the brim with the delicious Sweet Water.

“Thank you,” Harry said as he took the goblet, “You don’t have to keep calling me Consort; you can call me Harry. What’s your name?”

“You may call me Azure, Consort,” the servant replied, looking up at Harry with bright blue eyes. The servant was one of the Fae whose identity was not obscured, so Harry was able to see that Azure also had long, thick brown hair and golden skin. He was dressed in a tunic and breeches, and was very handsome-but the Fae in front of him just didn’t appeal to Harry. A good thing, too, as Dragon probably wouldn’t be too happy if Harry was attracted to Azure. Maybe it was the subservient thing; the way Azure continued to call him Consort instead of Harry reminded him of Dobby, and that wasn’t attractive in any realm.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry wandered over to the chair he had occupied the night before and picked up a book off a nearby table. The book was on bonding with a magical steed, and Harry quickly found himself drawn into the book, completely forgetting that Azure was even there. It was some time-perhaps a few hours-later when a pale, shining hand pressed against the page Harry was trying to read, completely obscuring the words. Harry growled softly and raised his eyes to glare at whomever had decided to interrupt his reading, only for his annoyance to melt away when he saw Dragon standing there.

“Dragon!” Harry exclaimed, letting the prince take the book from him without a fight, “I was starting to think I wouldn’t see you tonight.”

“A pack of wild Hellhounds couldn’t keep me away,” Dragon replied, taking Harry’s hand and drawing him to his feet, “Although Father’s council certainly spent a lot of wasted time and effort to prevent me from meeting with you this night. One cousin of mine in particular seemed determined to keep me from you, but his husband intervened.”

“I don’t want to cause problems with your family,” Harry frowned at the thought of Dragon fighting with his family because of him, Harry; he didn’t want to be the cause of any fights.

“Yes, well, it really isn’t up to you,” Dragon’s reply was casual as he led Harry to the bedroom, “I chose you, remember? You couldn’t escape me if you tried, so there is no point in blaming yourself for my cousin being an idiot. Besides, he’ll get over it eventually; he simply enjoys causing mischief. Now, Harry, how was your day?” The prince sat down on his bed, and Harry followed, sitting next to and facing Dragon.

“Pretty normal,” Harry shrugged, “I read a book your mum recommended about the Fae Courts, was forced to attempt meditation, got into a fight with my friends and-well, I guess there was something out of the ordinary. I made a truce with this boy I never got along with, and we agreed to study together-he offered to help me in Potions if I helped him with Charms. Tonight was our first study session, and I think I might have actually learned something.”

“Is that why you were so late tonight? You were spending time with someone else?”

“We were just studying,” Harry rolled his eyes, “We didn’t even talk about anything aside from Potions. I’ll probably be a little bit late tomorrow night too, because I’m supposed to help him with Charms.”

“Should I be jealous?” Dragon asked, turning so that he was facing Harry as well, and entwined their fingers. “Do I need to remind you who you belong to?” Dragon’s free hand came up to rest at the nape of Harry’s neck, tightening possessively as the emerald-eyed boy glared at him.

“I’m not a possess-mmph!” Harry’s protests were cut short as Dragon tugged him forward, seizing his lips in a searing kiss; the hand on his neck moved up to tangle in Harry’s dark locks, tilting the brunet’s head to improve the angle. Within seconds Harry was lost, tugging his hand free, he wrapped his arms Dragon’s neck; the blond deepened the kiss, drawing a moan from his lover, before pulling away and trailing his lips down Harry’s neck, stopping at his collar bone to renew his fading mar as Harry struggled to get his breathing back under control.

“Come Love,” Dragon murmured, pulling away again, “It’s time for you to get dressed.” Harry wrinkled his nose in confusion.

“What do you mean? I am dressed.”

“I meant dressed _appropriately_ ,” Harry could practically hear Dragon’s lip curl in disgust as the prince waved a hand, indicating the somewhat-worn uniform Harry was wearing, “You could have at least taken the time to change out of your uniform. I shall definitely have to take care of your wardrobe before much longer. Now, go change clothes.” Dragon stood and pulled Harry to his feet, then gave Harry a gentle push towards the same room divider he had changed behind before.

“Why do I have to change?” Harry demanded, even as he began taking off his shirt, “Where are we going?”

“You have to change because I despise the ratty clothes you wear,” Dragon replied, “and we are going for a ride; hurry otherwise we will be late.” Harry rolled his eyes, but obediently changed into the riding outfit that was waiting for him; it was the exact same one he wore last time, at least it looked the same to Harry. When he stepped out from behind the divider, he found Dragon standing by a stool, hairbrush in hand. Within moments Harry’s long hair was pulled back in a side braid and secured with a silver dragon clip. Dragon brought out Harry’s mask, and then led the brunet out of his room.

The two arrived in the stables, and Harry saw that Argent was already waiting for them. Dragon helped Harry to mount before settling behind the smaller boy, and then led the horse out of the stables, where Harry was surprised to see the King and Queen were waiting, along with the rest of the hunt.

“Dragon?”

“Hush, love,” Dragon whispered, tightening his arms around Harry’s waist, “Every night, until the end of Samhain, The Hunt will ride. If we hear an Oath Breaker we shall punish them accordingly, but otherwise this ride is simply to allow members of all the Fae Courts a chance to see my intended Consort. Nothing is expected of you, except for you to be here with me. You did not get a chance to enjoy it the last time you rode with The Hunt, but I think you will find this night enjoyable.” Harry took a deep breath and nodded his consent, not that it was actually needed, apparently, because they had joined the rest of The Hunt several minutes ago, Draco and Harry riding between the King and Queen, only a few paces behind them.

“I’m glad to see that my opinion matters to you,” Harry grumbled, even as he relaxed against Dragon; the prince had one arm wrapped around Harry’s waist, while the other was holding the reins.

“I am afraid there are some instances where neither you nor I have a choice in the matter,” Dragon responded, “This is custom; we really should have been riding every night since I chose you, however I wanted to wait until you were more comfortable with me. Brace yourself, love.” Seconds after Dragons warning, Harry gasped as Argent, following the king and queen, broke into a gallop and then leapt into the air; a dark cloud appeared beneath the horses’ hooves, and Harry recognized it from the night he had been running from the hunt. “The cloud is made of magic,” Dragon explained without waiting for Harry to ask, “It allows us to travel further without tiring our steeds, and it also directs us to those in need of our help, or Oath Breakers who are due punishment.”

“How did you find me then?” Harry wanted to know, “I’m not an Oath Breaker, as far as I know, and I don’t think I really needed your help.”

“I beg to differ,” Dragon countered, “You certainly need my help, with learning how to properly dress if nothing else. However, that is not how I found you; when the heir to the throne is of an age to choose a consort, the magic of the hunt temporarily transforms to bring him-or her-near to those who might make a suitable match. The moment I saw you sitting by the lake, I knew that you were the one for me. Has your friend made any further progress in learning about the Fae?”

“Er, not that I know of,” Harry said, blinking in confusion at the change of topic, “Then again, I think she suspects that I’ve been in contact with you, so she might not tell me everything she finds out; Hermione means well, but once she gets an idea in her head it’s nearly impossible to change her mind. I also think that Dumbledore told her to watch me; my friends have been practically stalking me the past few days.”

“Hmm, well we only have to worry about their interference for a little over a week,” Dragon told him, “Once we are officially bonded, no one can come between us.” The arm around Harry’s waist tightened, and Dragon pressed a gentle kiss behind his ear, making Harry shudder. “Perhaps, if you are not too tired after the ride, we can return to my chambers and spend some…quality time together before you have to return to school.”

“I’d like that,” Harry agreed softly, tilting his head back to look into Dragon’s shining tri-colored eyes; he reached up to push a strand of silver hair behind Dragon’s ear, then pulled the prince down to brush their lips together. After just a moment Harry pulled away, but Dragon quickly tangled fingers in Harry’s dark locks and pulled him back, gently biting Harry’s bottom lip before kissing the brunet with a passion that left them both breathless.

When Dragon finally released him, Harry was practically boneless, leaning all of his weight back on the Fae prince, his head resting against a strong shoulder and his emerald eyes staring hazily at the canopy of stars above them. Dragon gently carded his fingers through Harry’s thick locks with one hand, his other arm wrapped securely around Harry’s waist. As his breathing slowed and his focus returned, Harry smiled up at Dragon and, for just an instant, he swore he could see Dragon return that smile before the glamor reappeared, causing Harry to frown; he was getting tired of looking at Dragon through a glamor-he wanted to see who was behind that bright glow, he wanted to see Dragon’s expressions instead of having to guess at them and, most of all, he wanted to know the true name of the man he was growing to love. Tomorrow, Harry decided, he would devote his time to figuring out who Dragon really was. For now, however, he simply wanted to bask in the comfort of his lover’s embrace and enjoy their midnight ride through the stars.

No one saw, as the Hunt was passing over Hogwarts, a single figure standing in the window of the astronomy classroom, observing the Hunt with narrowed eyes. Those eyes briefly widened when they caught sight of the brunet being held by a shining figure, before the observer quickly spun around and left the tower. The Fae had overstepped their bounds, and now it was time to do something about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter up-Yay! I hope to have the next chapter up in a few days if everything goes well. There will be a small time jump in the next chapter, and...nope; not gonna give anything else away! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	6. The Sixth Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is a bit long, and has a lot of information crammed into it. I re-wrote the scene in the RoR three different times before I finally settled on this one; the other ideas for the scene were a mini-plotline in themselves and, I felt, would have taken away from the story. There will be a short time skip in the next chapter-we go from the twenty-third to the twenty-sixth. I hope to have it up later today. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed this newest chapter!

October 24

Harry was disappointed when he woke to find himself back in his dorm; the last thing he remembered was looking up at the stars as The Hunt rode over Scotland…he must have fallen asleep before dawn and been transported back to Hogwarts. Harry frowned; he had been looking forward to spending some more intimate time with Dragon…but perhaps it was better to wait. He would do as he planned the night before, and spend today figuring out who Dragon could be. Harry suspected that Dragon was Draco Malfoy, but he couldn’t be sure just yet. Luckily, today Harry had another Transfiguration class, Charms and Double Potions with Draco; since they were helping each other study Charms and Potions, Harry decided he would sit next to Draco in those two classes, and if anyone seemed suspicious he could use their tutoring as an explanation. If he was lucky, he might get to sit with the blond during Transfiguration as well. Harry was determined to either confirm or rule out the possibility of Draco being Dragon by the end of the day.

Harry quietly got out of bed, noticing that Ron and Seamus were still asleep, and quickly took his shower and prepared for the day. When he was done, Harry grabbed the book about Fae flowers, vaguely recalling the glowing blossoms he had seen in the woods with Dragon, with the intent of going through the pictures when he had the chance.

Harry was surprised to find the common room empty when he made it downstairs, but shrugged; while Hermione usually waited for either Harry or Ron to come downstairs, there were times when she left without them-usually to go to the library. This morning, Harry was more than happy to go down to breakfast by himself, as he was still upset about his friends’ attitudes the night before.

In the Great Hall, Neville and Dean were sitting at the Gryffindor table talking quietly, while Ginny was a few seats down, her eyes glued to the entrance of the Great Hall. When Harry walked through the door she smiled brightly and waved at him, and Harry bit back a groan; it seemed Ginny and Dean had broken up, and Ginny was going to start flirting with Harry again. It would be rude to just leave, so Harry slowly walked towards the table, only to have someone grab his arm before he had taken two steps.

“Oh, you don’t want to go over there, Harry,” Luna said earnestly, pulling him back towards the entrance, “The Great Hall is infested with Nargles, Blibbering Humdingers, and Cinnadoms this morning. I think I even saw a Tally Tarantopog by the Head Table. You should eat outside; I’m certain Dobby will be happy to bring some food to the courtyard for you.”

“Er, okay,” Harry said hesitantly; Luna was talking nonsense again, but he wasn’t about to argue with her-not when it got him out of having to eat an uncomfortable breakfast with Ginny. “I…guess I’ll eat outside then. Thanks for the warning.”

“You’re welcome,” Luna smiled serenely, “You should eat in the kitchens for lunch, and don’t go into the Great Hall for supper either, unless you talk to me first. After all, we mustn’t let the Frustrating Firejinns ruin your plans for the evening.” Luna turned to head back in, and Harry stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Um, Luna? Won’t the…the Nargles and…all the other things get you if you go back in there?”

“Oh, no,” Luna shook her head, “I have repellant, so they won’t bother me. Besides, someone has to clear them out before supper, otherwise they will infest the rest of the school and-well, I’m sure you know how bad an infestation would be, so I won’t bore you with the details. Have fun, Harry.” Luna quickly pulled her arm free and vanished back into the Great Hall, leaving Harry standing alone in the corridor. After shaking his head for a moment, Harry turned and walked towards the kitchens, stopping at what appeared to be a floor-to-ceiling, solid glass window. Harry placed his palm on the glass and waited a few seconds; when he felt the temperature of the glass go from cool to warm, he stepped through the glass and found himself in a small, seldom used courtyard.

Hidden as it was, few students knew of the courtyard; Harry had found out about it from Sirius, and he had only shared the information with Luna. Harry had planned to tell Ron and Hermione as well, but Luna had commented on how nice it was to share a secret with a friend, and so he had decided to keep it between the two of them.

The courtyard had two stone benches facing each other, and rose bushes of various colors growing tall around the edges of the courtyard. At the base of one bench was an abundance of lilies, of all types and colors; Tiger and Calla, Snow Queen, Stargazer, Red Artiste and many other types of lilies clustered around the bench, and Harry had borrowed a book from Neville so that he could learn the types. At the base of the other bench, was another type of flower, but Harry couldn’t remember the name of the family they were part of; all he knew was that the yellow flowers were called Daffodils.

As he took a seat on the bench with the lilies, Harry stared at the other bench, frowning. Those flowers, the Daffodils and whatever else, they looked very similar to the flowers he had seen with Dragon a few days ago. What were they called? Dragon had said that if he knew the name of the flowers in the Fae Realm that it would be a clue to Dragon’s identity, but Harry just couldn’t remember…

“Stalking me again, Potter?” Harry started at the unexpected voice and looked away from the flowers to find that Malfoy had just stepped through the window into the courtyard.

“I don’t see how I can be stalking you when I was here first,” Harry pointed out, “How did you find this place?”

“My mother told me about it,” Malfoy replied, sitting on the other bench, “What brings you out here this early? Planning on hiding out all day to avoid Potions this afternoon?”

“No,” Harry rolled his eyes, “I decided to eat breakfast here because I don’t want to deal with Ginny flirting with me all morning. Why are you here?”

“I was on my way to breakfast, when a small blonde girl accosted me outside the Great Hall,” Malfoy frowned, “She insisted that I not enter, due to the room being infested with all manner of creatures that I am most certain she made up. I intended to just ignore her, however she was very persistent-and much stronger than she looks-and so I acceded to her request that I enjoy my breakfast in the courtyard; she did not, however, inform me that I would have company.”

“Yeah, Luna can be a bit…odd,” Harry said with a fond smile, “but she means well.” He paused, then, “Dobby!” A moment later, Dobby appeared, a breakfast tray complete with two meals already in his hands.

“Dobby is being bringing Harry Potter sir and friend breakfast,” Dobby announced as he conjured a table to set the tray on, “Miss Luna is saying Harry Potter sir and friend is being eating here today, and Dobby is to be bringing food. Dobby must be getting back to work now; Harry Potter sir can be calling Dobby if he is needing anything.” A deep bow later, and Dobby was gone just as quickly as he had appeared.

“Dobby always was a strange one,” Malfoy shook his head as he summoned a plate of food and a cup of steaming hot tea, “However he makes the best food, don’t you agree?”

“I think he could tie with Mrs. Weasley for best cook,” Harry countered, summoning his own plate and digging in, forgetting his manners and talking with his mouth full. “I never had such good food until I started school.” Harry was surprised to find that Dragon had, once again, managed to provide him with food from the Fae Realm; this time his beverage was some sort of tea that had a hint of spice and just the right amount of sugar.

“Your family didn’t have good food?” Malfoy asked, sneering at Harry’s rude display and carefully eating his own breakfast.

“It was alright, I guess,” Harry replied, “I mean, it was just normal food; and I only ever ate when I cooked.” Harry’s eyes widened as he realized what he had just said, and he quickly moved on, hoping Malfoy hadn’t heard him, “But, um, even good Muggle food isn’t the same as what we have here. Do you know Muggles don’t have pumpkin juice? Instead they drink orange juice and apple juice, and they only usually drink juice for breakfast. Or, I guess, with their alcohol. And Muggle candy has nothing on Wizarding candy!” Malfoy’s eyes flashed in a way that Harry knew meant the blond had caught his slip up but, thankfully, the other boy chose not to mention it.

“Of course it doesn’t,” Malfoy scoffed, “How can their food compare to ours when they don’t have magic?” Harry made no reply to that, and the two ate in silence. Malfoy finished his food first, and his plate vanished when he set it on the bench beside him. “If you don’t hurry you will be late for class,” Malfoy warned as he stood to leave.

“About that,” Harry rushed to speak, setting his own plate to the side, “I thought, since you’re helping me in Potions and all, maybe we could work together in class today? In Charms too, if you want. I mean, we don’t have to, I just thought it might be easier because-”

“I had already intended to do so,” Malfoy interrupted with a smirk, “How did you expect me to correct your brewing mistakes if we did not share a table? Really, Potter, if I am going to be seen tutoring you then I expect you to at least make an attempt at using your brain. See you in class, Potter.” Malfoy was gone before Harry could respond to the insult.

“Git,” Harry glared after the blond as he grabbed his schoolbag off the ground and rushed out of the courtyard; he rushed through the hallways and made it to his first class of the day, Transfiguration, just before McGonagall closed the door.

“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said, watching as he took a seat next to Malfoy, which was the only empty spot remaining in the class. Hermione turned around to glare at him, but quickly faced the front again before McGonagall saw her.

“Our main focus this year is on achieving human-to-animal Transfigurations,” McGonagall immediately jumped into the lesson, “So far we have been focusing on learning meditation, and many of you have made great progress, however several students are still struggling, and we cannot move forward until everyone has mastered the meditation phase. With that in mind, I am assigning everyone a partner; those of you who are struggling with the meditation shall be partnered with a student who has successfully achieved a meditative state. When I call your name, please join your assigned partner if you are not already sitting together. Abbot and Thomas…” Harry tuned McGonagall out, only noticing that Hermione and Ron were paired together while Neville was paired with Zabini. Then, after Neville it was- “Malfoy and Potter.” Harry bit back a groan, and reminded himself that he wanted to be able to spend time with Malfoy…of course, if it turned out that Malfoy was not Dragon, things could become a little uncomfortable.

“Now, in just a few moments I will allow you and your partners to begin working on your meditation together, however I have a few things to say first,” Harry turned his attention back to McGonagall, “You will meet in the classroom as usual for every lesson, however once attendance has been verified you and your partner will be permitted to choose any room in this corridor to work in. At some point during every double lesson, I will check in on each pair to see your progress. Five minutes before the end of the lesson everyone will return here so that I can make sure everyone is accounted for.

“Once meditation has been achieved by both members in a pair, you will write an essay on how to discover your inner animal; once I have graded your essays, you and your partner will begin applying that knowledge in practice. Once you discover your animagus form, you will research it and turn in another essay to me, at which point I shall give you further instructions. I will recommend spending some time outside of class working on this as well. There is one half hour left in this period; you are dismissed to begin practicing and-just this once-you will not be required to return to the classroom before going to your next class. If you have any questions remain in your seat, otherwise you may go.”

“Let’s go, Potter,” Malfoy stood up as soon as McGonagall said they could leave, “There is an empty classroom nearby that should work for us, and I do not want someone else to get there first.”

“Whatever you say, Malfoy,” Harry rolled his eyes as he followed the Slytherin out into the hallway, “I don’t see why one classroom is better than another, but whatever.” Malfoy didn’t reply, but led Harry to an unused classroom just a few doors down; upon following the blond inside, Harry found that the room had fifteen or so desks pushed up against one wall, a teacher’s desk in the middle of the room, and a seating area with a couch, two chairs and several poufs on the floor.

“I use this room during my break on occasion,” Malfoy explained as he dropped his school bag by the door and walked over to the couch, “Which is why I did not want anyone else getting here first. Close the door, Potter; we don’t want any interruptions.” Harry’s mind immediately jumped to a situation that he most definitely would not appreciate being interrupted-namely having Malfoy’s cock in his mouth-and he fought back a blush as he quickly turned and shut the door; Malfoy didn’t mean anything of the sort, and Harry needed to get his mind out of the gutter.

“Er, so, I guess you’ve been able to do the meditation?” Harry said uncertainly, setting his bag down and sitting in one of the chairs near Malfoy.

“Of course,” Malfoy drawled, “Mother taught me. I am surprised you are having trouble with it; most people who are able to resist the Imperius Curse are good at meditation.”

“Well, I guess it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Harry explained, “I mean, all the books just say to clear my mind, and I don’t know how to do that. How can I force myself to not think of something?”

“I never imagined that not thinking would be too much of a problem for you,” Malfoy smirked, “I’ve seen you with a blank mind often enough in Potions.”

“Haha, funny Malfoy,” Harry glared at the blond, “Are we going to do this all day, or are you actually going to help me?”

“Why should I help you?” Malfoy arched his brow, “I am tutoring you in Potions in exchange for your assistance with Charms, but if I help you with this then what is in it for me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, a passing grade?” Harry said sarcastically, earning himself an unimpressed look from Malfoy, “Fine, how about the pleasure of my company?” Harry offered a false smile, which disappeared when Malfoy responded with an evil grin of his own.

“Deal,” Malfoy said quickly, “For every hour I spend assisting you, you will spend half a day in my company, doing whatever I want.”

“What? No!” Harry tried to protest, but Malfoy held up a hand to stop him.

“Too late, Potter,” he said, “The bargain has been struck; there is no backing out of it now. So, you said that you are having trouble clearing your mind, because you are trying to simply think about nothing?” Harry nodded, deciding to save his argument for another time. “Well, that is your problem right there; it is impossible to think of nothing. To clear your mind simply means to clear it of all important thoughts; focus on something unimportant, such as your breathing, or imagine a flame. By occupying your thoughts with something unimportant, you will find it easier to slip into a meditative state. Most people begin with focusing on their breathing, although some listen to music or have another person guide them through the meditation.” Malfoy cast a quick tempus, and Harry saw that they had ten minutes left.

“Spend five minutes focusing on your breathing,” Malfoy instructed, “I will tell you when the time is up, and we will make additional plans from there.”

Ten minutes later, Harry was walking to Charms with Malfoy, neither boy feeling the need to talk at the moment. Harry still had not managed to meditate, however Malfoy said that he would have a study plan ready by the time they met after supper.

In Charms the students were once again assigned partners, and Harry was, once again, paired with Malfoy. Their project was to combine two different Charms and make them work together to accomplish a task. They were to research a minimum of ten Charms each, turning in a two foot essay on each Charm. Once they began experimenting with combining the Charms, they would be required to turn in a weekly report detailing their results-successes, failures, and hypothesis for future experiments. At the end of the semester the students would turn in a four foot essay on their progress so far, and each pair would be expected to demonstrate their experiment after returning from the Christmas break. As in Transfiguration, the students were being given free time to work on their projects during class.

After Charms Harry went to lunch, only to find Luna once again guarding the doors to the Great Hall.

“It’s just not safe, Harry,” the blonde girl told him, “Now there are Rampaging Hippogatorsaurs, and you have the type of energy they are drawn to. It would be irresponsible of me to let you into the Great Hall. No,” she shook her head, “You should go down to the kitchens, and take the back way to Potions. Have a good day, Harry.” Luna gave him a push, and Harry reluctantly walked away from the Great Hall, musing on his friend’s behavior; Luna was acting even stranger than normal, and it was never good when she announced a new type of creature, such as just now with the Hippogatorus or whatever.

Harry shook his head and decided he would worry about Luna later; right now, he would go have lunch in the kitchens, and maybe have a look at that book about flowers in the Fae realm. After seeing similar flowers in the courtyard this morning, Harry was determined to find out what kind they were.

Harry enjoyed a quiet lunch in the kitchens; Dragon had managed to provide his food again, and Harry hummed happily as he enjoyed the meal with a goblet of Sweetwater. He was able to flip quickly through the book on Fae flowers, only looking at the pictures, and finally saw the familiar blossoms towards the middle of the book. Before he could read about them, Dobby told Harry that lunch was over and the brunet hurried to his Potions class.

In this class, too, Harry was paired with Malfoy. They were to research several different potions that could be combined with spells, turn in a three foot essay every week on one of the combinations, and submit a final project proposal before the Christmas Break. After break they would begin brewing the potions, if Snape gave his approval, to be turned in by Easter. Their research would be done outside of the Potions classroom during lesson times, and all brewing would be done in a special lab under Snape’s supervision. If time was needed outside of class to work on their potion, then students would have to request additional brewing time, which would be allowed at Snape’s discretion.

As Harry and Malfoy flipped through their Potions text, Harry couldn’t help but wonder why all the teachers were assigning projects-and why they had all assigned him to work with Malfoy. If Hagrid partnered the two up in the next Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Harry would have proof that it was a conspiracy. For now, though, he had an annoyed blond who might hex him if he didn’t get back to reading.

///////

“You need new clothes,” Malfoy greeted Harry as the brunet entered the Room of Requirement after classes that day; the Slytherin had arrived ahead of him and was sitting on a low green couch with his books spread out on the coffee table in front of him, “Since the professors are forcing me to spend so much time with you, we will have to do something about your wardrobe; I refuse to be seen with someone wearing rags.”

“Then I’ll just make sure I wear my uniform at all times,” Harry rolled his eyes to hide his embarrassment as he sat on the couch opposite Malfoy; he had meant to throw out Dudley’s oversized clothes and replace them over the summer, but he hadn’t had the chance since he was sequestered at the Burrow until September first.

“Unacceptable,” Malfoy countered, “We will go shopping in Hogsmeade this weekend. Now, before we begin on our projects, and get started with tutoring, we should set up a schedule. I ordered an assignment folder like yours, so if we link them we will be able to see one another's schedules, which will make setting up a combined schedule easier to do. I can even set the spell up so that one of the folders is shared as well, allowing us to share information on our projects more easily if we are ever not able to meet."

"That sounds like a good idea," Harry admitted as he withdrew his assignment folder, "Why don't we link the folders for each of the classes we are partnered in?" After a moment’s consideration, Harry also pulled out two leather journals and passed one to Malfoy. "The twins gave these to me," Harry explained, "These journals are linked and are spelled so that only the owners can read what's in them. We can use them to share notes on our projects."

"Or to insult each other where the professors can't see," Malfoy smirked, "Before we get started, I believe I promised you supper." The blond stood and gestured to a table in the corner, which Harry saw had two plates set up under a warming charm. "I had Dobby bring it up earlier; hopefully this time you will remember not to speak with your mouth full."

"I can't make any promises," Harry replied, sitting down across from Malfoy; he had another Fae meal from Dragon. The Fae prince had provided roast beef tonight, and another goblet of Sweetwater; Harry glanced up at Malfoy to see if the blond had noticed anything different, and saw that he was also eating roast beef; Harry figured Malfoy wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between their two meals just from looking, then again, if he really was Dragon, he already knew...Uh-oh. Malfoy was scowling at Harry’s meal…

"I told Dobby bring us both pumpkin juice," Malfoy frowned.

"Oh, that's okay," Harry was quick to assure him, "Dobby knows I like to drink water at supper.” He hurried to change the subject, asking the first question that came to mind; “Have you heard anything else about your father?" Harry winced, regretting the question as soon as he asked it; thankfully, although he gave Harry an irritated look, Malfoy didn't seem to take offense.

"If I had heard from him, what makes you think I would tell you?" He demanded, "You would just tell Dumbledore, and then Father would be locked up again. If I do hear from Father, I would make sure to keep it to myself."

"Even if it means that Lucius is out there hurting or killing people?" Harry demanded, the food in front of him temporarily forgotten, "You know that's why was arrested; he was throwing curses at me and the others."

"Was he? Father sent me a letter after he was arrested, and he told me everything that happened that night," Malfoy said, "Did you actually see him curse anyone?" Harry opened his mouth to say yes, of course he saw Lucius cursing his friends, but stopped and frowned in confusion. Lucius had shown up with the rest of the Death Eaters, but he hadn't thrown any curses; he hadn't even drawn his wand and had, in fact stopped Bellatrix from cursing them. Harry didn't see the elder Malfoy draw his wand until the Order arrived, and, from what he remembered, that was only to protect himself.

"I didn't see him curse anyone," Harry admitted reluctantly, "But he's done things in the past; it was his fault Ginny-and me- almost died back in Second Year. Dobby told me your father was the one to give Ginny the diary that day in Diagon Alley, and Lucius tried to hex me when I tricked him into freeing Dobby."

"Father was not completely in control of himself at the time,” Malfoy said, “It is a known fact that he has always been susceptible to the Imperius Curse; he has never been very good at any type of mind-magic.”

“Oh? And who held him under the curse after Voldemort was gone?” Harry asked, “Once someone dies their spell breaks, everyone knows that.”

“But the Dark Lord was never truly dead, was he?” Malfoy pointed out, “The curse on my father weakened, but still held; it was tied into Father’s Dark Mark. He was also close to another piece of the Dark Lord’s magic until our Second Year when, after noticing that I was being drawn to the diary, he attempted to get rid of it. To this day Father does not remember giving the diary to the Weasle-Ginerva. Once the diary was gone, the curse on him weakened further; halfway through the summer following Second Year he shook off the remains of the curse.”

“I haven’t seen any change in his actions,” Harry said, “He showed up the night Voldemort came back and-”

“He had no choice,” Malfoy interrupted, “At the Quidditch World Cup his Mark grew darker, and by the time the Dark Lord returned Father was fully under the Imperius Curse again. You must understand, however, the curse did not affect his everyday behavior, but rather it only activated if Father was attempting to do something the Dark Lord would not approve of; the curse is much harder to detect when it is applied that way. Even so, Father was able to resist when the Dark Lord wanted to have me marked this past summer.” Malfoy pulled both of his sleeves up and showed Harry two bare arms, the pale skin free from the blemish of the Dark Mark. “Father only joined the Death Eater’s because the Dark Lord said he had a plan to protect our world from Muggles. By the time he realized the Dark Lord was insane, it was too late to back out. Father tried, but that was when the Dark Lord tied the Imperius Curse to his Dark Mark. The only way for him to be free of the Dark Lord is for one of them to die. Naturally, I would prefer it if it was the Dark Lord rather than my father.”

“Well, I still don’t think your father is a nice person,” Harry said, after taking a few moments to think about it, “but, if I win, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that he at least receives a fair trial. Of course, my word might not amount to anything even when if I do win; with my luck, they’ll decide I’m evil and throw me into Azkaban for killing Voldemort.”

“You need to learn how to use the press to your advantage,” Malfoy shook his head, “How you’ve gone six years without figuring that out, I’ll never know. Never mind; in return for your promise to help Father get a fair trial once all this is over, I will help you with the press. We need to set up an interview so that you can talk to the press; the Daily Prophet would be ideal, although I’m not certain we can count on Skeeter to write a fair article.”

“Can we do this later?” Harry pleaded, “All this stuff about politics and-and publicity gives me a headache. At least let me finish eating first!” Malfoy eyed him appraisingly, before giving a single nod.

“Very well,” he agreed, “I will work political lessons into our schedule, so you won’t have to worry about it tonight. Also, if you had not insisted on bringing up such a controversial subject then we both would have been able to finish eating by now.” Malfoy picked up his fork, ignoring the face Harry made at him, and went back to his supper.

The boys spent the next twenty minutes eating quietly, with Harry pushing his plate away first. As soon as they were both done, they sat on the couch together to work out a study schedule, and then settled in to work on the Charms and Potions assignments that would be due the following day. Malfoy reviewed Harry’s Potions essay for him, marking out things that needed to be corrected, and Harry returned the favor with Draco’s Charms essay. They then spent another hour on meditation; Malfoy would have Harry focus on his breathing for ten minutes, then they would take a five minute break, before starting the cycle over again. Once the hour was over, Malfoy provided Harry with a pain potion for the headache that was starting to build.

“Thanks,” Harry said gratefully, quickly downing the potion, “I asked McGonagall to give me one after the first time we tried meditating, but she told me I would have to go to Pomfrey, and I didn’t feel like staying in the hospital wing all night.”

“I overheard you telling your friends about your headache yesterday,” Malfoy admitted, “So I decided it would be a good idea to bring a potion for you. Although, I still don’t see why you have so much trouble with meditating; it shouldn’t cause you this much pain.”

“Well, it might have something to do with last year,” Harry said, “Snape was supposed to be teaching me Occlumency, and it didn’t go too well.”

“I would imagine not,” Malfoy sneered, “You must trust the person who is teaching you Occlumency, and whoever decided to have Snape teach you must have lost their gobstones. Why was he trying to teach you Occlumency anyway?”

“I-I can’t tell you everything,” Harry bit his lip, “It’s-I need more time before I can do that. All I can tell you is that I have information that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. It’s not that I don’t trust you because, for some odd reason, I do; it’s just that I promised not to tell anyone other than Ron and Hermione.”

“Of course,” Harry’s hadn’t even realized that the blond in front of him had dropped his Malfoy mask until he saw it slide back into place, “I would have to be a fool if I expected you to share important information with me; I only told you about my father because I needed your help to keep him safe once this is all over.”

“I already told you I trust you,” Harry huffed, “If it was just my secret then I would tell you right now, but this secret affects others as well; I will tell you eventually.” Harry cast a quick tempus and saw they had an hour left until curfew. “Did you want to work on the Patronus Charm tonight? It was one of the charms on our list.”

“I think that will have to wait,” Malfoy declined, packing up his books, “I am not in the right frame of mind to attempt producing a Patronus.” Harry frowned, disappointed; although he didn’t say anything, Malfoy was obviously upset about Harry not sharing information with him. Harry wanted to tell him everything, but he couldn’t yet; he could, however, give him a little information, along with a promise.

“Part of what I have to keep hidden is the wording of the prophesy,” Harry said quietly, hiding a smile as the blond froze when reaching for a dropped quill, “Voldemort doesn’t know the full prophesy, but I do and I have to make sure that he doesn’t find out. Also, Dumbledore has been showing me things about Voldemort that will help me when the time comes for me to confront him.” Harry dropped his eyes to the table and began packing away his own books; he finished putting everything away and still there was no reply from Malfoy. “I guess I’ll head back now, since you don’t want to practice the Patronus tonight.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” Malfoy declared, and Harry looked up to see that the other boy was standing, his wand drawn, “Since we are already here, I might as well make an attempt; I can at least make sure that my pronunciation and wand work are correct.”

“Ok,” Harry agreed, getting to his feet as well, “Just know that it might take a few tries-I didn’t get it on my first try either-so just don’t get discouraged. Do you know the incantation?”

“Expecto Patronum.”

“Right,” Harry nodded, “And the wand motion?” Draco demonstrated the wand motion, and Harry noticed it was a little off. “Not quite; make it more of a sweeping motion.” Harry spent a few minutes helping Malfoy with the wand motion before jumping back in to the lesson. “Okay, the words and the wand motion are important, but they aren’t the most important part of the Charm. The most important part is the memory you choose. Dementors feed off of negative emotions, so you need to choose a happy memory; your happiest memory, actually. Watch. Expecto Patronum.” Harry watched as the silver light flowed out of his wand, creating a stag, as usual. He sent it to gallop around Malfoy a few times, causing the blond to almost smile, and then let it fade away.

“My turn,” Malfoy said, raising his wand, “Expecto Patronum!” A faint silvery light emerged from the tip of Malfoy’s wand, only to almost instantly fade away.

“That was good for a first attempt,” Harry encouraged, “You just need to choose a stronger memory. I had to go through several memories before I was able to choose one that was strong enough.”

“Yes, but you were only thirteen,” Malfoy frowned, “I should be able to produce a corporeal Patronus with no problem.”

“A lot of adult wizards can’t even create a Patronus,” Harry pointed out, “Don’t put too many expectations on yourself, otherwise you’ll be too stressed for it to work. Try choosing another memory. When were you the most happy? Concentrate on that memory and try casting again.” Malfoy nodded, his brow creased in thought for a moment before smoothing out as he raised his wand again.

“Expecto Patronum!” This time a bright silver light burst from his wand, forming a large, indistinguishable shape. Malfoy let it fade away and immediately tried again.

Thirty minutes later, Malfoy was smirking as a small silver dragon (well, it was small for a dragon, but it was actually the size of Harry’s stag Patronus) flew around his head.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Harry exclaimed, “Not many people have a magical Patronus! And you learned it really quickly too!” Harry didn’t have to fake his enthusiasm; Malfoy’s dragon really was amazing to see, and it almost made him wish that he had a magical Patronus too.

“Of course,” Malfoy’s smirk grew larger, “I am, after all, a Malfoy; you should have expected nothing less.” A pause as the Patronus faded away, and then, “It might have helped, just a bit, that I had an adequate tutor. If you ever get tired of playing the hero, you could probably get a job as a Defense instructor.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Harry said drily, putting his wand away, “And I don’t play the hero; I just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; or the right place at the right time, I guess it depends on how you look at it. Anyway though, we should probably get going.” Harry turned to grab his school bag, and as he picked it up the book on Fae flowers fell out, opening to the last page he had been reading. Harry shot a quick glance at Malfoy, but the blond was busy casting another Patronus and not paying any attention to him. Harry quickly looked at the book, and read the first two sentences on the page.

_“Daffodils, Paperwhite and Angels-tears are just a few flowers belonging to the genus Narcissus which are popular both here in the Fae Realm and among mortals. Of course, Narcissus blossoms in the mortal realm do not glow at night as ours do, and they also do not come in as many colors...”_

The picture in the book was identical to the flowers Harry had seen in the realm, and he looked at the name again; Narcissus. Harry closed the book and studied Malfoy from the corner of his eye; Malfoy’s mothers name was Narcissa, he remembered from hearing Lucius Malfoy introduce her to the minister at the World Cup. Harry put the book back in his bag and closed it, chewing his bottom lip as he thought. Malfoy and Dragon were the same person; they just had to be! The two had so much in common…but maybe he should do a quick test, just to make sure. Harry dropped his bag by the door and then walked over to Malfoy-maybe he should call him Draco…or would he still prefer Dragon? He walked over to the blond and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Potter?” Malfoy looked at him in confusion, “I thought you already left.”

“I was just about to,” Harry replied, “But then I thought I’d give you another happy memory for the next time you need a Patronus.” Harry gathered his courage, then quickly wrapped an arm around Malfoy’s neck, pulling the blond towards him and pressing their lips together in a passionate kiss.

Harry quickly pulled away before Malfoy could try to deepen the kiss, and hurried to the door. He snatched up his bag and pushed the door open, calling over his shoulder, “See you later, Dragon!” Harry grinned as he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower; he was positive now that he had discovered Dragon’s identity, and he couldn’t wait to meet up with the Fae tonight. Unfortunately, his plans were put on hold when McGonagall stopped him just before he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

“Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you,” McGonagall informed him, “I will escort you to his office.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Harry frowned in confusion as he followed his Head of House.

“How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?” McGonagall inquired, “Have any of the Fae attempted to contact you?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Harry easily lied, “I’m doing fine. I’m a little over-whelmed with all the extra projects we have to work on, but Malfoy and I worked out a schedule-we haven’t even killed each other yet.” He grinned at McGonagall, and she shook her head at him.

“I applaud your newfound maturity,” was her reply, “I believe the Headmaster is concerned because you did not eat tonight, and you disappeared right after classes were out.”

“I did eat, just not in the Great Hall,” Harry told her, “Luna kept stopping me before I could get there and she told me that it wasn’t safe for me to eat in the Great Hall; I know that none of the creatures she told me about were really in there, but sometimes it is easier to just humor her.”

“Yes, Miss Lovegood is an unusual girl,” McGonagall agreed, “Exceptionally bright and very gifted, but unusual all the same. I was happy to see you make friends with her, as she did not have too many friends her first few years.”

“I never thought Ravenclaws would be so mean to one of their own,” Harry shook his head, “Do you know they take her things and hide them? I’ve seen her walking around without shoes.”

“Filius has looked into it,” McGonagall told him, “However no one will confess, and Miss Lovegood refuses to name the offenders. Perhaps you can persuade her to provide that information.” They stopped outside the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore’s office, McGonagall looking expectantly at Harry.

“I’ll try, Professor,” he promised, and she nodded once in satisfaction before giving the password; “Canary Cream.” The gargoyle moved out of the way, and McGonagall sat down on a nearby bench. “I will wait to escort you back to the tower after your meeting.” Harry murmured an agreement and stepped onto the moving staircase, mentally bracing himself for this unwanted meeting with Dumbledore.

/////

It was nearly two hours later when Harry finally made it up to his bed. He had been unpleasantly surprised to find Hermione and Ron with Dumbledore; evidently his friends had gone to the headmaster and told him that Harry was behaving strangely, and Hermione thought that it had something to do with the Fae.

_"I can't think of any other reason why you would have made such a scene over an innocent comment," Hermione had said, referring to what had happened at supper the previous night, "I was simply telling you that complaining about learning to meditate was not going to solve your problem."_

_“No, you were saying that you didn’t want to hear it at all,” Harry argued, “You get mad at me for not telling you how I feel, but then when I do you tell me to shut up.”_

_“You spent hours complaining about meditation!” Ron protested, “All ‘Mione did was tell you to go to the library instead of complaining!”_

_“Right, because you’re the only one who can complain,” Harry scowled at him, “Every day you complain about your brother’s, Malfoy, Classes, Snape, not being able to buy everything you want, not knowing how to tell Hermione that you like her…on and on!”_

The argument had gotten worse from there, with Dumbledore sitting back and letting them yell at each other for a good half hour before he intervened. Then, it was an hour of questions-have you received any more letters or presents? Have you felt a strong pull to leave the castle? Do you ever feel any magic coming from the cuffs? On and on the questions went, then the subject of Harry working with Malfoy had come up, which started another argument between the three friends. Dumbledore, once again, let them scream it out; this time they kept at it until McGonagall arrived and scolded them for acting like children. She escorted them back to the tower, and Harry had immediately climbed into bed and warded his curtains.

Now, he could finally go see Dragon; as he wrapped his fingers around the small key, he had a quick thought that he hoped the prince wasn’t too angry at his lateness. Mere seconds after he activated the key, Harry gasped in surprise as he was pushed against the wall. Before he could catch his breath, he found his lips captured in a passionate kiss, a firm body pressed against his own as Dragon devoured his mouth. A harsh nip had Harry parting his lips, granting entrance to Dragon’s questing tongue, and moaning in pleasure as Dragon rocked their hips together. Harry opened his eyes-he didn’t even remember closing them-and pulled away as disappointment washed over him; Dragon was still under a glamor! Did that mean Draco wasn’t the prince?

“Why can’t I see you?” Harry demanded, “You said once I know who you are, the glamor will fall away.”

“Just like any spell, you must say the counter in order for the glamor to disappear,” Dragon said, “In this case, you will not be able to see me until you say my name, my true name.”

“Oh,” Harry whispered, wrapping his arms around the prince’s neck, “Draco.” The glamor didn’t vanish immediately, but rather faded in small stages.

First, Harry was able to see tri-colored eyes, rings of blue and silver that seemed to shine with an inner light. Then, he saw long, silver hair over Dragons-er, Draco’s-shoulder, and the other boy’s aristocratic features became visible. He saw that Draco was still in his school uniform, but before he could notice anything else, Dragon leaned in for another kiss, stealing Harry’s breath once more. They broke apart after only a moment, and the prince drew Harry towards the bed, his wicked eyes telling Harry exactly what he had in mind.

“What do I call you?” Harry asked, “Draco, or Dragon?”

“You can call me either,” was the reply, “Although I like it when you call me Draco. Now, Harry, would you like to take you clothes off, or shall I?” Dragon-no, he would call him Draco-Draco ran his hands over Harry’s shoulders and trailed down his chest, fingers coming to rest at the bottom of his shirt.

“I think that right now is the worst possible time for you to get over your habit of vanishing our clothes,” Harry replied, “I’ve slept with you several times, and even had your cock in my mouth, but I still haven’t’ actually seen your body.” Harry felt his face redden as soon as he realized what he had said; Merlin! What had possessed him to say those thoughts out loud!

“My, my, Harry,” Draco laughed, “Glad to see you’re not shy. Here; better?” Draco waved his hand and Harry shivered as his clothes disappeared.

“Not really,” Harry frowned, “You’re still dressed.” He reached forward, intent on remedying the situation, but Draco slapped his hands away.

“Not so fast,” the blond smirked, “If you want to see me, you’ll do exactly as I say. Go lie down on the bed; on your back, with your hands above your head.” Harry scowled, but decided to go along with it. Once he was settled on the bed, Harry felt his bracelets pulse, and he looked up to see that they had turned into rose vines and were acting as restraints once again; he was surprised to see that they had blossomed more since the last time he had seen them.

“They grow as our bond grows,” Draco explained without prompting, “Your blood just helps them grow faster. Now, Harry; look at me.”

Harry turned his head so that he could look at Draco, and the blond gave him another smirk before slowly unbuttoning his shirt, starting with the bottom button. When he reached the collar, Draco paused to take off his tie, then slipped his shirt off his shoulders, carelessly letting it fall to the floor. Harry watched with wide eyes as Draco trailed his hands over his chest, tweaking his nipples, and then slowly reaching for the button to his trousers, caressing his skin the entire time. Long, pale fingers quickly popped the button out and lowered the zip, and Harry gasped when the trousers fell to the ground, revealing that Draco had not been wearing anything under them. Draco’s cock stood tall and proud, a thick column of pale flesh rising up out of a nest of silvery hair, and Harry marveled that it had fit inside him. Draco slowly stroked his cock as he kicked his trousers away and walked over to the bed.

“Now, Harry; what do you want?”

“I want you,” Harry replied without hesitation, “Please, Draco!” Draco crawled onto the bed and straddled Harry, still leisurely stroking his own cock.

“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” the prince smirked, “Do you want my cock?”

“Yes,” Harry said, squirming beneath him, “And-I want you to touch me.”

“Hmm, like this?” Draco let go of his cock and leaned forward to gently card his fingers through Harry’s raven locks, “Now, how do you want my cock? In your mouth? Or in your tight little hole?”

“Yes,” Harry turned his head as Draco trailed gentle fingers down the side of his face, “Both.” Harry opened his mouth and caught those fingers before they could go any further, applying gently pressure with his teeth as he laved them with his tongue.

“So greedy,” Harry was pleased to note that Draco sounded breathless, “So desperate…but we haven’t time for both, so you’ll need to make a decision, love; tell me where you want me.” Draco insistently pulled his fingers away, leaving Harry to pout before answering his question.

“I want you inside me,” Harry said, “I want-I want your cock in-” Harry gave himself a mental shake, disgusted at his inability to form a complete sentence, and forced himself to tell Draco what he wanted; “I want to feel your cock in my ass; I want you to fuck me.” He felt his face heat up, but didn’t have time to focus on his embarrassment as Draco immediately leaned down to press their lips together in a brief kiss before trailing kisses down his neck, across his chest, and down his torso until he reached Harry’s aching member.

“Why, love, I thought you’d never ask,” Draco said, just before he took Harry’s cock in his mouth, immediately swallowing his lover to the root. Harry cried out in surprise and bucked his hips, but Draco merely laughed and pulled away with a pop, before whispering a spell that coated Harry’s passage with slick lubricant. Draco quickly stretched Harry, going from one finger to three in a matter of minutes, taking his cue from the brunet who seemed impatient with the whole process.

“Now, Draco,” Harry demanded, “I want you in me now. I’m-oh, right there-I’m ready!” Despite knowing what was to come, Harry couldn’t stop himself from whining when Draco removed his fingers, earning himself a chuckle from his blond lover.

“So impatient, love,” Draco teased, lifting Harry’s legs up to rest on his shoulder’s as he positioned himself, “Don’t worry; I wouldn’t dream of leaving now.” Harry held his breath as he felt Draco’s cock pressing against his opening, then threw his head back with a moan when he was breached in one smooth motion. Draco pulled out and slowly pushed back in, repeating the motion a few times just to see Harry squirming with impatience.

“Draco!” the brunet protested, “More! Please! I want you to fuck me!”

“As you wish, pet,” Draco smirked as he increased the pace; his fingers dug into Harry’s hips, sure to leave bruises behind, but the other boy didn’t seem to care, as he was too busy trying to meet Draco’s thrusts. Draco watched as Harry began pulling against the vines, and minute drops of blood appeared around his wrists.

“Touch me?” Harry pleaded, “I’m so close! I want-I want to cum with you inside me; want to feel you cum inside me.” Harry watched as Draco’s lips tilted up in a smirk, and one pale hand left his hip to wrap around his cock, stroking in time with Draco’s thrusts. “Yes!” Harry threw his head back, then quickly forced himself to meet Draco’s gaze. “Want to-want to watch you-see you come undone.”

“Yes; look at me Harry,” Draco growled, squeezing just a bit more tightly, pleased when Harry let out a soundless gasp, “You’re mine, aren’t you? You want to feel me cum in your ass; you like knowing that I’m the only one who will ever have you like this.”

“I-I love it!” Harry agreed, “Love you inside me…love knowing…knowing that I’m yours. Always!” Draco gave a little twist as his hand reached the top of Harry’s cock and the brunet cried out, his back arching as his orgasm crashed over him.

“Merlin! So tight!” Draco moaned, “So-always!” Draco thrust deeply inside Harry, spilling his seed into the willing body beneath him. Draco collapsed, taking care not to crush Harry, and the vines turned back into bracelets. Harry turned so that he was pressed against Draco, and relaxed once the blond wrapped an arm around his waist. He was just beginning to feel the familiar lethargy, when Draco pulled away.

“Come on,” Draco said, “Get up now; we missed riding with the hunt, but we still have time to make it to the masquerade.” Harry rolled over and buried his face in a pillow.

“Don’t want to,” he mumbled, “Go away! Ow!” He jerked his head up to glare at Draco, who had just swatted his ass.

“Don’t be so lazy,” the prince chided, “I have a rejuvenating potion for you, and Mother and Father will be happy to see that you have discovered my identity.”

“But I don’t want to go out and dance tonight,” Harry protested, “Can’t I take the potion and then we can just stay here and talk? There’s still a lot we don’t know about each other. If you don’t make me go to the dance tonight, I’ll do whatever you want tomorrow night.”

“Very well then; deal,” Draco gave him a wicked smirk, before summoning a vial filled with a deep green potion; “Take just a sip of this then, and you should be good for a few hours.” Harry accepted the potion, wincing when he discovered it tasted like grass. “Now,” Draco sat against the headboard and pulled Harry to lean against him, “What would you like to talk about?”

“Well,” Harry said hesitantly, “I can-I guess I can tell you more about the prophesy, and what Dumbledore has been teaching me this year.” He frowned as he thought about the best way to start his explanation. “Did you know that Trelawney has actually made true predictions? About sixteen years ago, Dumbledore went to the Hogs Head to interview possible Divination professor…”


	7. The Ninth Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Sorry about the delay; lots of stuff has been happening recently...plus, I am probably one of the worst authors when it comes to updates. But, here it is, and we've moved a bit further along, too. I'm planning for another two or three chapters, but I can't make any promises for when they will be updated; I have a very fickle muse, and she is constantly encouraging me to work on other stories that I'm not even ready to begin posting yet. Enough rambling; thank you to all those who have reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the update!

October 27

“I just don’t understand it; why won’t you go to Hogsmeade with me?” Harry sighed as he looked into Ginny’s tearful brown eyes. It was Sunday morning, and Harry had been on his way to meet Draco; ostensibly so that they could work on their project together, but Harry was really just looking forward to spending some more time with the blond. He had been about to head up to the Room of Requirement, when Ginny had accosted him.

“Sorry Ginny,” Harry said, “I already have plans. Dr-Malfoy and I have to work on our project because part of it is due tomorrow, and right now is the only time he is willing to meet with me.”

“It’s not fair!” Ginny fumed, actually going so far as to stomp her foot, “You went off with Luna yesterday, and now Malfoy is stealing you away from me! Don’t you want to spend time with me?” Harry had actually been with Malfoy yesterday too-the Slytherin had snuck him out of Hogsmeade and portkeyed them to Paris to buy Harry new clothes and fix his vision (no more glasses!)- but Luna had, for some unknown reason, covered for him and told Ginny that Harry had spent the day helping clear out a Nargle infestation in the once-forbidden third floor Charms corridor. Even though she knew Nargles didn't exist, Ginny accepted that Harry had been with Luna and had let the matter drop; until now.

“I’m sorry Ginny,” Harry shook his head, “It’s just-I know you’ve been flirting with me, and it makes me uncomfortable. I wasn’t going to say anything yet because I’m still figuring it all out, but over the past month or so…” Harry paused, but figured he had already come this far so he might as well continue; telling Ginny the truth-or a version of it, at least-was the only way he could think of to get her to leave him alone. “I’m gay Ginny; I just really started to accept it, which is why I have been spending so much time alone.”

“You’re-no!” Ginny shook her head in denial, “You can’t be! What about-what about Cho? And the other day, when I was flirting with you; you didn’t seem uncomfortable then!” Ginny’s eyes were blazing now, daring him to deny it.

“Cho was a crush, and it only took one kiss for me to realize I didn’t like her,” Harry replied, “And the other day-I just figured you were joking around.” Harry could see Ginny gearing up for a fight and quickly pressed on, not wanting to give her the chance to start yelling; “Look, I really have to go; if I’m late meeting with Malfoy he’ll never let it go, and he’ll tell Snape and I’ll get a zero on my part of the assignment. I’ll see you later, Ginny.” Harry knew it was rude-and somewhat cowardly-of him, but he quickly stepped around Ginny, dodging as she tried to grab his arm, and disappeared around the corner; as soon as he was out of her line of sight, Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak and pressed against the wall. A few seconds later, he saw Ginny run by, obviously looking for him, and was glad he’d had the foresight to grab the cloak on his way out of the dorm.

Once Ginny's footsteps faded, Harry resumed his trek up to the fifth floor, where he found a door already waiting for him. Inside, Draco had his books spread out on a long table like those in library, and he was copying something down on a piece of parchment.

"You're late," the blond said without looking up, "I expected you nearly fifteen minutes ago. By the way, that invisibility cloak doesn't work on me, so you might as well take it off."

"I wasn't trying to hide from you," Harry replied, slipping the cloak off and laying it on the back of one of the chairs, "I would have been here sooner, but I had to get away from Ginny first."

"Oh?" Draco finally looked up from his paper, "What did she want?"

"For me to go to Hogsmeade with her," Harry sat down and began pulling his own books out, "I told her the truth; well sort of. I told her we were working on our projects, and that I just realized I'm gay."

"Brilliant thinking," Draco drawled, "Now your friends will be able to claim that you only think you're gay because you've been manipulated by the Fae."

"I’ll just explain to them that I realized it over the summer,” Harry shrugged, “It’s true after all, and it’s the reason I didn’t ask Ginny out even though her whole family was encouraging me to. What are we working on today?”

“We finished all of our assignments for Monday and Tuesday,” Draco replied, “So we really don’t have anything that needs to be worked on. Why don’t we focus on teaching you to meditate? We’ll do that for an hour, and then we can do something else.” Harry gave his agreement, and the two quickly settled down on cushions on the floor. “Okay, close your eyes, Harry,” Draco instructed, “Just focus on your breathing. Breathe in…and breathe out.”

For the next hour Harry obeyed Draco’s instructions, and was actually able to meditate for ten minutes near the end. Draco offered a headache potion, and Harry was relieved to tell him that it wasn’t needed. For the first time since he had begun trying to learn meditation, his head didn’t hurt.

The two boys then packed up their belongings, and Draco drew Harry to the center of the room.

“Do you think anyone will miss you if we leave now?” Draco wanted to know.

“Probably,” Harry replied, “I don’t really care though; I’ll just tell them that we were working on our project. Why? What did you have in mind?”

“You’ll see,” Draco said with a smirk; he wrapped Harry in his arms and transported them to his chambers in the Fae Realm. “I had my tailor make a full wardrobe for you,” Draco announced, pulling away from Harry and walking over to a large set of double doors which opened to reveal a walk-in closet. “Are you in the mood to go riding? You can see some more of the kingdom.”

“Okay,” Harry agreed, standing at the entrance to the closet, “Will my horse be ready yet?”

“Not until the day before I introduce you to the realm as my Consort,” Draco told him, returning with a set of riding clothes, “Here; go put these on while I change as well.” Harry took the clothes but, instead of going behind the screen to change, he just walked over to the bed and began stripping out of his robes. Once he was down to his pants he reached for the hose Draco had provided, only to be stopped when arms suddenly wrapped around his waist.

“And just how do you expect us to ever leave this room if you insist on stripping in front of me?” Draco demanded teasingly, nibbling on Harry’s ear.

“Hey; it’s not my fault you-you have no self-control,” Harry closed his eyes, letting out a small gasp as Draco bit down on his collar bone.

“Hmm, but I say it is entirely your fault,” the blond countered, “Lucky for you, we have plenty of time before we’re expected. However, I think you need to be punished for distracting me, don’t you agree?”

“What? Punished? I don’t-oh!” Harry forgot what he was saying as Draco vanished his pants and wrapped a hand around his dick, stroking slowly. “Um, I-” He tried again, but Draco’s free hand came up to pinch a nipple, and he lost his train of thought again.

“You didn’t answer me, Harry,” Draco reminded, “You agree with me, don’t you?”

“Hmm? Agree?” Harry asked distractedly, arching into Draco’s touch; the prince chose that moment to tighten his grip on Harry’s cock, and the brunet threw his head back with a soft cry, “Yes!”

“Excellent,” Draco immediately released him, but before Harry could turn around he found himself bent over the edge of the bed, his shoulders resting on the mattress and his ass high in the air.

“What? Draco-Ow!” Harry gasped when Draco gave him a harsh smack on his left ass cheek, “What the hell!” He tried to push himself up, but a whispered word from Draco had the cuffs on his wrists drawing his arms behind his back, where they were immediately wrapped in thorny restraints as Draco spanked him again. “Let me up!”

“No, Harry,” Draco refused, “You agreed to this, remember?”

“You’re a cheating bastard!” Harry accused, yelping when he received another smack on the ass, “You tricked me and-” another blow landed-“Stop fucking hitting me!”

“I will do no such thing,” Draco said calmly, “Besides; I think you enjoy this.” Draco reached under Harry and grasped his cock, which was still rock-hard.

“That’s not the point,” Harry said through gritted teeth.

“I think it is exactly the point,” Draco countered, “You deserve a punishment, and so you shall receive one. I will, however, give you the option of remaining like this, or lying on my lap, which would, no doubt, be more comfortable for you. Which would you prefer?”

“I would prefer for you to let me up,” Harry retorted, only to receive another harsh smack.

“If you don’t make a decision in the next ten seconds then you will remain like this, and I will have to use my belt,” Draco said, providing incentive for Harry to choose one of the options provided. Bent over like this his shoulders hurt, and so did his neck from turning his head to the side so that he could breathe…

“Fine,” he scowled, “I guess…on your lap.”

“An excellent decision,” Draco replied cheerfully, helping Harry to stand up. Harry glared at Draco as the blond made himself comfortable on the bed before patting his lap. “Don’t dawdle now, or I will have to increase your punishment,” he warned.

“You didn’t even tell me how many spanks you were going to give me in the first place,” Harry grumbled as he awkwardly climbed on the bed to lay across Draco’s lap; with the blond’s help he was settled within a few moments.

“I didn’t, did I?” Draco hummed, “Very well; your initial punishment for distracting me was to be five spanks. You get an additional five for the attitude you showed, five more for being stubborn, and a final five because I know you will do something to deserve it later, when I may not have time to see to your punishment.”

“That’s not fair!” Harry argued, tensing to get up; Draco stopped him with a hand in the small of his back, and he settled for scowling at the blanket.

“Well, I would hate to be unfair,” Harry could hear the smirk, even if he couldn’t see it, “Would you find thirty spanks to be more acceptable? Or perhaps fifty?”

“No!” Harry protested, “I didn’t mean-”

“Well, those are your choices, love,” Draco interrupted, “Twenty, thirty or fifty; unless, of course you think you need more than fifty. If so, I am perfectly willing to hear your suggestion.” Harry bit his lip for a moment, forcing away the urge to call Malfoy a number of unflattering things, before he was able to answer calmly.

“Twenty is fine, Malfoy,” He practically growled.

“Tsk, tsk,” Draco said, “Shall I have to add another five because you don’t know the proper way to address your fiancé? It’s terribly upsetting for you to call me by my surname after all we have been through.”

“Either get on with it or let me up,” Harry irritably, “This might have been arousing at first, but now it’s just annoy-ow!” Draco chose that moment to bring his hand down, the harsh smack making Harry try to jerk away.

“Very well, I shall let your attitude slide this once,” Draco said calmly as he gave his captive another three spanks in quick succession, “I can see you are in no mood to be reasoned with.” Six more spanks followed, and Harry moaned as he squirmed in Draco’s lap, his erection rubbing against the blond’s thigh. “Halfway through, now.” Harry would have protested, recalling the five spanks he had received prior to Draco explaining the punishment, but the blond immediately gave him two more spanks on the globes of his ass, followed by an angled smack that hit something a little lower, sending a jolt of pure pleasure though him.

“Did you like that, love?” Draco angled his next blow to the same spot, causing Harry to moan again as he rutted against Draco, “I’ll take that as a yes.” Another angled blow, followed by one at the top of his thighs. “Better hurry love; we’re almost done here.” Harry continued rutting as the last spanks were given…one…two…three…and on the final spank, he tipped over the edge, crying out his pleasure to the room.

Harry slumped over Draco’s lap as he came down from the high, but he was only given seconds to recover before he realized for the first time that Draco was naked as well, and his lover’s pale cock was pressing insistently into his stomach. Harry took another moment to gather himself, then slid off the bed and sank to his knees, immediately enveloping Draco’s cock in his mouth. That spanking had been intense, and he wanted to show Draco his appreciation.

“Gods, yes!” Draco moaned, tangling one hand in Harry’s dark locks, “Suck it! So good! So close!” Harry hummed and swallowed around Draco’s cock, eager to bring his lover the same pleasure that he had just experienced. “Yes…” Draco hissed, thrusting his hips up, “Can’t…Harry!” Draco jerked his hips up again, pulling Harry down at the same time, and the brunet quickly worked to swallow as Draco’s seed filled his mouth. Draco pulled away and looked down at Harry with hooded eyes, one finger reaching out to wipe away the cum that Harry hadn’t been able to swallow. Keeping eye contact with the brunet, Draco slowly raised his hand to his mouth and licked it clean, smirking when Harry’s eyes widened before darkening with desire.

“That was amazing, love,” Draco said, helping Harry to his feet as the vines became bracelets once more, “Did you enjoy it?”

“Do you have to ask?” Harry laughed lightly as he pressed a chaste kiss to Draco’s lips.

“Well, no,” Draco smirked, “I just thought I would be polite.” He pulled Harry in for another, slightly longer kiss, before casting a cleansing charm and stepping away. “Now, hurry and get dressed before I have to punish you again.” Harry glared at the blond, who simply raised an eyebrow and then turned away, going back to the closet. With a shake of his head, Harry reached for his riding clothes again and quickly got dressed.

 

//////////////////

Harry spent the afternoon riding through the countryside with Draco, settled comfortably in front of the blond as Argent carried them through shady forests and lush meadows. Well, if asked under Veritaserum Harry would have to admit that he wasn’t completely comfortable; sitting on a hard saddle all day wasn’t very good for his sore bum, which still ached slightly from the spanking Draco had given him. The worst thing though, was that the sting on his ass actually made him horny again, and his erection was rubbing against the confines of his hose.

The two lovers stopped to have a picnic lunch in a secluded meadow, a soft blanket spread out in the shade of a large tree. The food was as delicious as ever, and Draco once again provided Sweetwater for Harry to drink.

“The Holly Berry Cordial is for later,” the prince told him when he asked, “It will still affect you rather strongly, since you are not yet Fae. Also, we do not have enough time for me to ravish you at the moment, which I would certainly have to do when your taste is mixed with that of the Cordial.” Harry had pouted when Draco held true to his word and did not ravish him before they mounted Argent and resumed their journey.

It was early evening when they finally returned to the palace; once in Draco’s rooms Harry was immediately taken from the blond and ushered into the bathroom, where the servant he had met before, Azure, already had a warm bath waiting for him. To his embarrassment, Azure then proceeded to strip Harry and even started to wash him, but the brunet quickly assured him that he could do it himself. They argued for a few minutes, but eventually Harry was able to bathe himself, with the exception of Azure washing his long, thick hair for him; Harry had only agreed to that because he still had no idea how to even handle having hair that long.

After his bath, Azure assisted Harry with getting ready for the evening, although the servant refused to tell Harry what Draco had planned for the night. Harry’s clothing, however, made him blush just looking at it as it lay innocently on the bed. This was nothing, however, to the flush that darkened his face after he was dressed and Azure had guided him to stand in front of a full-length mirror.

Harry’s attire for the evening consisted of a long-sleeved, black blouse with loose sleeves that tightened at the wrist, only to end in a fall of lace over the back of his hands, an emerald green tunic embroidered with golden dragons that ended at mid-thigh, a gold belt, a pair of black hose, and tall black boots with the cuff folded down to his knees, revealing a pattern of gold lace. The clothing molded closely to his form, emphasizing his lean muscles. His hair was pulled back in an intricate braid, the ends tied with green silk, and he was once again wearing eye liner. Looking in the mirror, Harry saw an ethereal being, with sun kissed skin, hair the color of a raven’s wing, and green eyes that shone like the gemstone people always compared them to. His lips were red and full-no doubt from him biting them in nervousness-and the silver cuffs at his wrists had changed to gold, to match his outfit. Harry had also allowed Azure to talk him into getting his ears pierced, and he had an emerald stud in one ear, and a golden dragon ear wrap on his right ear. Around his neck, was a heavy black choker with a gold lace overlay with a large emerald resting in the hollow of his throat. Harry wouldn’t have believed that the person looking back at him with glowing emerald eyes was himself, if not for the fact that the reflection matched his every move.

Harry had been staring at himself in disbelief for several minutes, when Draco suddenly stepped up beside him, and the brunet had something new to look at.

Draco was dressed in a white shirt identical to Harry’s black one, and a dark blue tunic with diamond buttons down the front. His hose were white as well, while his boots were black, folded down at the knee to reveal a pattern of silver lace. His hair shone silver, reaching just to his chin and framing his face to perfection. He also wore eyeliner, which made his tri-colored eyes stand out even more. Draco’s pink lips were tilted up in a smirk, even as he moved behind Harry, wrapping strong arms around the brunet’s waist to pull him back against his chest. Draco leaned down to place a soft kiss on Harry’s neck, causing the boy to close his eyes and tilt his head back with a soft moan. Draco chuckled, pressing another kiss to his lover’s collar bone, then stepped away and took possession of Harry’s hand.

“Come,” he said, tugging Harry to the door, “You’ve managed to avoid it the past few days-mostly because I wanted to keep you all to myself-but it is time we had dinner with Mother and Father; they are eager to meet you now that you know who I am and, consequentially, who they are.”

“Wait, what?” Harry frowned, digging his heels in as he stopped in the middle of the room, “Dinner with your parents? I never agreed to that!” He tried to pull his hand loose, but Draco refused to relinquish it.

“You had to have known that it would happen at some point,” Draco told his lover, “Or did you expect to spend the rest of your life with me, without sharing a meal with my parents?”

“I’ve eaten with them before!” Harry protested.

“Yes, but that was before you knew who they were,” Draco pointed out, “They want to get to know you, as you will soon be part of the family.”

“Family is important to your parents, isn’t it?” Draco nodded, “Okay; then why don’t we have supper with them _after_ we’re bonded? Then I’ll already be family, and they won’t hurt me.”

“They won’t hurt you regardless,” it was Draco’s turn to frown, “Why are you being so stubborn, love?”

“You’re dad tried to kill me,” Harry reminded him, “Numerous times. I know you said he’s different, but…” Draco’s frown melted into a soft smile as he pulled Harry into a comforting embrace.

“Harry, love, there is nothing for you to worry about,” Draco murmured pressing a kiss to the top of Harry’s head, “Father would never hurt you; I promise.” Harry pulled back slightly to look up at his fiancé with wide emerald eyes, and Draco couldn’t help but lean down to capture those tempting red lips in a fiery kiss, which Harry returned eagerly. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck and began walking backwards, until the back of his legs hit the bed; he started to fall backwards onto the soft mattress, but Draco steadied him even as he pulled away from the kiss.

“And just what are you doing?” Draco demanded, silver-blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Nothing,” Harry said innocently, his face still flushed with pleasure, “I just thought...” he trailed off as he lowered his eyes, imitating a tactic he had seen one of the older Slytherin girls use against her boyfriend; he pouted slightly as he looked up at Draco through thick lashes. “Don’t you want to continue? These clothes are so restricting; I thought you could help me get more comfortable.”

Draco let out a soft growl as Harry pressed up against him; Harry fought back a victorious smile-no dinner with Lucius today!-when Draco’s hands came to rest on his ass and the Fae leaned down to initiate another kiss-only to be interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door, which opened moments later to reveal Azure. Azure bowed lowly to Draco, not getting up until the prince motioned for him to do so.

“Your Mother has sent me to remind you that your presence is required in the family dining hall,” Azure said softly, keeping his eyes averted, “The meal is ready to be served.”

“Please inform Mother that we shall be there momentarily,” Draco replied, “I simply have a small matter to settle with my Chosen first.”

“Yes, Highness,” Azure bowed again before exiting the room, leaving the door open.

“Very Slytherin of you, Harry,” Draco looked down at his lover appraisingly, fighting back a smile as Harry endeavored to portray innocence.

“Why, Dragon, I don’t know what you mean,” Harry said, only to yelp when Draco spun him around and bent him over the bed, holding him down with one hand in the middle of his back as he landed five hard smacks to the brunet’s ass. Before Harry could say anything, Draco pulled up upright again and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“That was for making us late to dinner,” Draco informed him, “Later we’ll see about your punishment for purposely distracting me. Now, let’s go, love.”

“That’s not fair,” Harry protested, even as he allowed Draco to link their arms and lead him to the door, “Earlier you said that the extra five spanks were for if I misbehaved later; I don’t think I deserved these last five!”

“Hmm, I did say that,” Draco hummed thoughtfully, “Very well; if you do not start a fight with my Father then I will let the last ten spanks for distracting me slide.” Harry glared at the blond, but didn’t reply as he was brought to a small dining room-small compared to the ones he had seen so far in the realm; this table could still easily fit twenty people, but only two individuals were currently seated at the far end of the table. As Draco escorted him across the room, Harry studied his future in-laws.

Lucius was sitting at the head of the table; his long hair was pure white with two pale blue sections framing his face, and his skin just as pale as Draco’s. His eyes were ice blue, and, as they got closer, Harry could see tiny silver flecks, which mimicked the movement of snowflakes; were they actually snowflakes? The elder Malfoy’s clothing was pure white; since the man was sitting, Harry could only see the white-long-sleeved shirt underneath a white doublet with a silver design embroidered around the edges. On his head, was a crown made of white metal, either platinum or white gold.

To Lucius’ right, sat Narcissa. Narcissa’s hair was a few shades darker than her husbands, a pale blonde with golden streaks in it that fell in soft waves down her back. Her skin was likewise slightly darker, with a golden tone to it, and her eyes were dark blue with a grey sunburst design radiating out from the pupil. Narcissa was wearing a low-cut white dress with gold trim; her arms were bare, aside from a gold serpent arm cuff with glittering diamond eyes. Resting amongst her pale curls, was a delicate golden crown inset with diamonds.

Draco and Harry came to a stop a few feet away from the monarchs, and bowed.

“Good evening, Father,” Draco said as they stood up, “Good evening, Mother. I would like to officially introduce you to my betrothed, Harry James Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans, Heir to the Distinguished House of Potter and the Ancient and Noble House of Black.” The king and queen dipped their head in acknowledgement, and Draco continued; “Harry, these are my parents, King and Queen of the Seelie Court; my father, Lucius Malfoy of the Winter Court, and my mother, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black of the Summer Court.”

“We are honored to officially meet the one our son has chosen to be his companion through eternity,” Lucius said formally, “Harry Potter, be welcome at our table and know that no harm shall befall you whilst you are among us.”

“We are pleased to have you join us at our table,” Narcissa added with a soft smile, as Harry let Draco pull out a seat for him; Draco sat next to Lucius, while Harry sat on Draco’s other side.

“Thank you,” Harry said, “I mean, I’m glad-er, honored-to be here too. Um, thank you for welcoming me.” He shot a glare at Draco; surely the blond could have made an attempt to make sure he was prepared for this awkward moment!

“Before we dine,” Lucius began, “I feel I must first offer an apology.” He caught Harry’s gaze; “Harry Potter; over the years I have attempted to harm you and yours. I have made decision’s which I now look upon with regret, and I know that my weakness’ have resulted in injury to both yourself and your friends. I apologize for those actions, and hope that we can move forward without the negativity of our past affecting our future relations. As Draco’s Chosen, you are family, I am proud to claim you as such.” Harry gaped for a moment, unable to believe that Lucius Malfoy- _Lucius Malfoy!_ -had just apologized to him. After searching those icy eyes for a moment, Harry realized that the apology was sincere, and a sharp jab to his side from Draco snapped him out of his disbelief.

“I forgive you,” Harry replied simply, “Draco explained to me some of what happened, and I understand that you weren’t always in control of your actions. I don’t blame you for anything that has happened to me.” He briefly thought about Sirius, falling through the veil, but quickly pushed the thought away; that hadn’t been Lucius anyway-it had been Bellatrix. “I-I would like to be family and put the past behind us.”

“Wonderful,” Narcissa beamed, her smile like a ray of sunshine, “Then we can begin the meal.” As she spoke, the first course appeared on the table and the small group was mostly silent as they ate, only speaking of light topics.

After dessert, Lucius led them all into a private parlor.

“This room is for family only,” Lucius explained as he sat on a loveseat with Narcissa; Draco and Harry sat on another loveseat across from him, “Aside from the four of us, there are currently perhaps six people who have access to this room, however none of them shall intrude upon us until after Samhain has ended.” Lucius glanced at Narcissa, tilting his head just a fraction, and she made a complicated gesture with her right hand, which conjured three small rotating orbs.

“We have perhaps an hour before we will be expected,” Narcissa said as the orbs vanished, “Enough time, at least, to begin discussing the bonding ceremony. Draco, do you have a specific time in mind for the ceremony?”

“I would like it to begin at moonrise,” Draco replied, “I will have no trouble getting away, however we may have to arrange a distraction for Harry.”

“Not really,” Harry disagreed, “I’m sure I can get away from my friends. Even if I can’t leave without them knowing, once we’re bonded they can’t do anything to separate us, right?” Draco nodded. “Well, if they try to stop me I’ll just activate my key.”

“That is acceptable,” Lucius agreed, “However, I would recommend trying to make sure you are not seen when leaving, if at all possible. Now, who will be your witnesses?”

“Cousin and Uncle will be mine,” Draco said, “and I have in mind two witnesses for Harry, if you will permit me to choose them?” He glanced at the brunet for affirmation.

“Um, okay,” Harry nodded, “That’s fine with me. How exactly is this bonding ceremony going to work?”

“Well, as in any ceremony, there are two roles,” Narcissa began, “They are called many names; Bride and Groom or Dominant and Submissive are the two most commonly used by the Fae. The person who generally initiates the physical aspect of the relationship-” Harry felt his cheeks flush at the matter-of-fact way Narcissa was talking about his and Draco’s sex life, but his future mother-in-law didn’t seem to notice-“is considered the Dominant. Would I be correct in thinking that Draco will be taking on this role for your ceremony?” Harry nodded, too embarrassed to say anything. “Very well, then, as the Submissive, you will assist me in making the preparations for the ceremony. Draco will offer his input, however the final decision-from the flowers to the color scheme to the food selection-will be yours to make. Draco will choose his clothing for the occasion, however Lucius and I will make certain that his clothing compliments the outfit you choose for yourself. Everything else, we can discuss later; beginning tomorrow, you and I will spend an hour or so together every day until after the bonding. Do you have any other questions so far?”

“Does this mean that I have to do whatever Draco tells me to do?” Harry questioned with a frown.

“Of course not,” Narcissa laughed, her eyes sparkling with good humor, “You are not in any way obliged to do everything Draco tells you to do, although he would have you believe otherwise. My son has always shown a determination to have things his own way.”

“And I never fail to gain that which I desire,” Draco drawled, clasping Harry’s hand and lifting it to place a kiss on the back, “It may take years, but I always get what I want, eventually.”

“Prat,” Harry glared at the blond, turning his head to the side when Draco leaned in to kiss him, so that his lips met Harry’s cheek instead of lips. “Draco also mentioned before that I will become Fae after the bonding; what does that mean, exactly?”

“Well, you will be long-lived like us,” Lucius said, “Your magic will change and grow; most Fae have an affinity with a certain element, or season. Once you discover what your new affinity is, you will receive training in that area. In addition, your appearance is likely to change; it is hard to say exactly what will change, but you will most likely keep the same hair and eye color, it will simply be enhanced. If you take Draco, for example, his appearance is still very similar to what he looked like before he dropped his glamor, is it not?”

“Yes,” Harry frowned, “But…if what he looked like in school was a glamor, then this isn’t really the same, is it?”

“Yes, and no,” Narcissa spoke up again, “Our magic lets us hide in the mortal world; Draco’s appearance at Hogwarts is what he would look like if he were a regular wizard.”

Harry spoke with Draco and his parents for several more minutes, until Narcissa touched Lucius’ hand to gain his attention; although no words were said, Lucius immediately understood what the gesture meant, and stood up before helping his wife to her feet.

“It is time to go,” Lucius announced, conjuring a silver cloak for himself and a gold overcoat for Narcissa, “Tonight, and for every night until the bonding is complete, the two of you will be expected to join us.”

“Of course, Father,” Draco agreed, standing and pulling Harry to his feet. Draco extended his hand, and within seconds a cloak appeared; the cloak was black with gold trim, and Draco settled it around Harry’s shoulder’s before summoning his own cloak, which was white on the outside, with silver lining. He also summoned two masks-the one that Harry had worn before, as well as a white mask with blue trim which Draco himself wore. Harry glanced at Lucius and Narcissa, and saw that they were also wearing masks.

“We’re riding?” Harry asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Draco confirmed, “Although, with Mother and Father’s permission, we will not be attending the masque afterwards.”

“You may leave after the first dance,” Lucius compromised, “Our court deserves a chance to see the newest addition to our family before you are bonded. Now, it is time to go.”

///////////////////

“Finally,” Draco sighed as he pulled Harry into the bedroom, “I honestly thought Mother would keep us there forever; next time Father insists we remain until the first dance has ended, remind me to get an Unbreakable Vow from _both_ of my parents saying that they will not keep us past the first dance.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Harry laughed as he removed his mask and set it down on a table near the door, the choker quickly following, “We stayed an extra ten minutes or so. I have to admit though, I am really looking forward to being able to relax.” He unclasped his cloak and tossed it over the back of a nearby chair, then moved his hands to the hem of his tunic, only to have Draco grab him by the arms and spin him around, pressing him against the bedpost as he captured Harry’s lips in a soft kiss at odds with the possessive ay the blond’s hands roamed his body. “Dra-oh!” Harry pulled his head back, then gasped when Draco pressed a kiss to his collar bone, before giving it a sharp nip.

“Mmm, I think you meant Dra- _co_ ,” the prince corrected as he pressed another kiss to Harry’s collar bone. “What do you want, Harry?” Long fingers trailed down Harry’s torso, before lifting the hem of his tunic; Harry allowed Draco to remove the tunic before answering.

“I want you, Draco,” Harry said, as he wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck and pulled him down for another kiss, “I want…I want to feel you inside me.” Draco hmm’d and initiated another kiss, licking at the seam of Harry’s lips until the slighter boy granted him entrance. Draco distracted him with teasing nips as his hands made quick work of the buttons on Harry’s shirt. He slid it off Harry’s shoulders and then stepped back, placing a hand in the middle of Harry’s chest to prevent him from following.

“Finish undressing and get on the bed,” Draco commanded, walking towards the bathroom, “When I return, I want to see you naked, lying face down on the bed, understand?”

Harry nodded, then sat on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. Draco gave him a smirk and then vanished into the bathroom. Harry struggled with the boots for a few minutes, before finally being able to toss them to the side. He then removed the rest of his clothing, and began to reach for the silk tie holding his braid, but decided to leave it for the time being. Instead, he crawled to the middle of the bed and lay down on his stomach, pushing the pillows out of his way as he made himself comfortable. Harry had his arms folded under his head, and his face was turned to the bathroom as he waited for Draco to come back.

When the blond returned, he was completely naked, and he was carrying a small glass bottle.

“That’s not a love potion, is it?” Harry asked jokingly.

“Of course not,” Draco scoffed, “This is massage oil; I thought you could use a massage after our afternoon ride and then riding with The Hunt tonight.” Draco climbed on the bed and straddled Harry; he poured some oil into his hands and began smoothing it into Harry’s skin. “Besides,” he added, “I don’t need to give you a love potion; you’re already in love with me.” Any response Harry would have made was derailed by Draco’s talented hands, massaging away the knots of tension in his back. Draco’s hands smoothed over his back, down to his ass; Draco lightly skimmed over his buttocks, then became firmer on the backs of his thighs. Harry relaxed under Draco’s ministrations, actually zoning out for a few minutes as he focused on the feel of Draco’s hands on his skin.

“Still with me, love?” Harry blinked slowly, not registering the question for several seconds.

“Hmm? Yes,” he replied, moaning softly as Draco’s thumbs pressed into the arch of his foot. Draco let go of Harry’s foot, then trailed his fingers up his calves to the back of his thighs, causing Harry to squirm at the tickling sensation.

“Turn over,” Draco sat back to give Harry enough room to move. The brunet rolled over and looked at Draco with hooded eyes; he let his gaze travel over the blond’s lithe body, coming to rest on Draco’s erect member. “See something you like?” Harry’s eyes shot up, catching Draco’s amused smirk, only to be drawn back down to his lover’s cock as Draco slowly stroked himself.

“Well, you’ll just have to wait, because I’m not done helping you relax yet,” Draco released his cock, and coated his hands in oil again before resuming the massage, this time starting at Harry’s ankles and working his way up. Harry closed his eyes as he rested his head back on the mattress, once more enjoying the feel of Draco’s hands working out all the knots of tension in his body. When Draco reached his hips, the blond lightened his touches, just barely ghosting them over Harry’s skin and making him shiver. Harry’s hips lifted of their own accord, earning him a chuckle from his lover. Draco's fingers skimmed lightly over Harry's abs, the teasing touches causing the brunet to squirm as the massage became more sensual. The touches became harder as Draco reached his chest, and Harry moaned as the firm, sure touches slicked his chest with oil. Thumbs lightly brushed his hardened nipples, and Harry couldn't help releasing a breathless plea; “Draco.”

“Yes, love?” Draco leaned forward to kiss and suck on his neck, “Tell me what you want.”

“Want-want you,” those wicked lips had moved up to Harry's ear now, and his breath caught when Draco bit his lobe, which was still sensitive from the new piercing, “Please, Dragon; I want you inside me.” The nickname slipped out without Harry even being aware of it, and he gasped when Draco responded by nipping harshly at the sensitive spot behind his ear, before taking the ear cuff between his teeth and tugging, causing Harry’s hands to fly down and grip at his shoulders.

“Do you want me to fuck you, Harry? Do you want to open you with my fingers and my tongue, preparing you slowly and driving you mad; bringing you to the edge and holding you there until you're desperate for release, begging for my cock?” The sinful voice seemed to be a physical thing, penetrating his mind the way he so desperately wanted Draco's cock to penetrate him. Harry writhed beneath the blond, whining in displeasure when Draco moved so that Harry couldn’t rut against him. Harry’s lover was in the mood to tease, but Harry wasn’t.

“No; no teasing,” he shook his head, tangling his fingers in soft blond hair and pulling Draco up for a kiss, “I want you to fuck me.” Draco smirked and dipped his head for another quick kiss before pulling away and settling himself between Harry’s legs. He traced the furled opening with one slick finger, pressing against it but not yet penetrating, as he asked;

“Are you sure you don't want me to lick you open? Imagine my tongue-” Harry sat up, cutting his lover off with a kiss and using the element of surprise to flip them so that he was straddling the blond. Quickly, before Draco could take control again, Harry used a burst of wandless magic to bind his prince to the bed.

“What do you think you are doing?” Draco demanded, pulling against the magical rope that was attached to the headboard, binding his wrists together.

“You were taking too long,” Harry grinned, reaching over to pick up the bottle of oil, “so I decided to take matters into my own hands.” Harry slicked his fingers with the oil, then reached behind himself and immediately pressed the first one in; his actions immediately silenced any protests Draco might have made, as the Fae was too busy watching him. Ignoring the slight discomfort, Harry pumped the finger in and out a few times, before quickly adding a second finger and beginning to scissor them.

“Do you even know how hot you look right now?” Draco groaned, bucking his hips up so that Harry fell forward and had to use his free hand to catch himself on Draco's chest, “I love the way you look, with your face flushed and your eyes dark with lust. Just looking at you right now, watching you prepare yourself for me, is almost enough to make me cum without even touching my cock.”

“Fuck,” Harry groaned, pulling his fingers free, “I need you in me; now.” Harry knelt up and reached behind himself to get Draco's cock into position, and sank down so that he was fully penetrated in one motion; Harry bit his lip as he waited for the pain to dissipate a little, then he began to move. Harry slowly lifted up, then let gravity pull him back down.

“So hot,” Draco groaned, canting his hips the next time Harry came down, causing his lover to moan softly, “That's it love; ride my cock. How does it feel, love?”

“Good,” Harry’s reply was breathless, as he tried different angles until he managed to graze his prostate; he cried out in pleasure and increased his pace, reaching down with one hand to begin stroking his cock.

“I don't think so, lover,” this time Harry cried out in frustration, as the rose vines once again wrapped around his wrists, pulling his arms taut above his head, “You can cum when I say so, and not a second sooner.”

“Bastard,” Harry growled, pulling on the bindings until thin lines of blood were trailing down his wrists; he glared down at Draco, and the blond smirked back at him.

“Look up, Harry,” the prince instructed, and Harry obeyed, tilting his head back to see that the ceiling above them had been turned into a mirror. “See that? Look at how beautiful you are, with your face flushed and your ass stretched around my cock. See how hard you are? Your cock is so slick with precum…you want to cum love? Ride me; show me how much you love having my cock in your ass.”

“Draco! So hot! Love this, having you in me…” Harry moaned as he moved, finding his rhythm again as he watched their reflections in the mirror; Draco’s pale skin was covered with a faint flush, his silver and blue tri-colored eyes were bright and, as Harry continued riding his lovers cock, those colors began to swirl together. Draco’s skin took on a pale glow, making him look ethereal next to Harry’s own tan skin and dark hair. Somehow, seeing everything in the mirror made the whole situation even more arousing, and he found himself aching for release.

“You’re amazing, love,” Draco said in a husky voice, “Merlin Harry, what you do to me!” Draco bent his knees, almost knocking Harry off balance again, and began thrusting up every time Harry came down, making the brunet cry out. “I love being inside you…love seeing you come undone…I love knowing that you are mine…”

“Yes, yours,” Harry agreed, “I-so close! Need-touch me! Please, Draco!” Draco thrust harder at the sight of Harry struggling towards orgasm; Harry shuddered at the feeling of Draco’s magic flowing over his skin and expected to see the blond breaking free of his ropes-he knew that Draco had the power to do so, at least while here in the Fae Realm if nowhere else- but instead he watched in the mirror as a tendril of green wrapped around his cock and began stroking him in tandem with their love making. The vine was slick and moved smoothly around his shaft, and Harry gasped for air as he neared completion. It was so good, the hard length inside him and the swirling pressure surrounding him quickly pushed Harry over the edge and he came crying Draco’s name. Just as he was coming down from the high, Draco gave one last jerk of his hips, and then Harry felt the warmth spilling into him, the vine continued to stroke him gently, encouraging Harry to keep moving until, all at once, it dropped away and his wrists were freed from the rose vines. Harry, having nothing holding him up any longer, fell forward and Draco immediately caught him in his arms, running soothing hands up and down Harry’s back as they both came down from their high.

“So amazing,” Draco murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “I love being with you, Harry; I love holding you in my arms and feeling your warm body next to mine.” Harry hummed as his eyes closed in contentment, sleep pressing at the edges of his consciousness.

“Yes,” Harry mumbled, squirming until he was comfortable in Draco’s arms, “Me too…love you.”


End file.
